Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Blood Soaked Wings, Severus, S.

"Give me a place to stand, and I will move the earth."
—Archimedes.
"If I cannot bend the will of Heaven, I shall move Hell."
—Virgil, Aeneid.
­­­"I saw my earlier selves as different people, acquaintances I had outgrown. I wondered how I could ever have been some of them."
—Roger Zelazny, The Courts of Chaos.

The surge of anger drains all my energy, now my chest is panting, I really need to grasp my breath again, no fucking distractions now, my steps are unfurling with swiftness, turning creamy and silky, cutting through the darkness of the shadows, matching my bedeviled thinking, the cadence of my way feels as soft as an ostrich stride, and my guts protected with my tactical chest bag contrast with my white dress shirt, choice made for practical measures and to accommodate survival devices, it's belted tightly around my rib cage, heavy against my choking heart, my pulse hammers between my thorax, it feels like I've just swallowed a clock.
Dust hits my sense of smell at once, clouds of heavy powder hit me, plenty mellow spores fly around, it is severely awful, the moldy odor persisted all the way from downstairs, instantly attacking my tingling nostrils, something in between old moss and decaying wood, since the house is old enough to be made almost entirely out of that material, mixing tiny hints of pepper and sandalwood together. Wiping my snot with the back of my sleeve, I start to notice my shaking hands, the whole room is making my stomach turn with repulsion.

The next movement needs to be slower than my heart's pacing, it's necessary to at least try and ignore my chest, still trying excruciatingly to seize some air, yet, my gears are still moving, and the plan shifts towards prioritizing gaining some extra steps closer to the center, this is a big place, and it won't be easy to navigate, it tastes even more burdensome now, with the night creeping in closer. I'm worrying terribly about my thinning composure, the confidence I gained while sneaking in is now flying away with the same velocity it spiked, flowing through the crevices of the floor of the room I'm now exploring, it's like cupping a handful of sand and letting it run down my fingers, my gut pushes me to strangle some control again, this heist can't spoil. 

Cold fingerprints explore with uncertainty one of my vests pockets, fidgeting with the fabric in an attempt to pull out my flashlight, the heavy plastic dives under my palm, I start redirecting my force and moving it upwards with the flow of my demeanor, the snappy click of the button pulls me towards reality again, beams of artificial light cast a long and velvety trail in front of me and showcases innumerable speckled cinders, they start to float around in the new sickening view, a bunch of ghosts materialize right in front of me, reaching the high rooftop with their long arms and fingers, cast in between multitudinous furniture, the burning light makes the ghosts start to dance, trying to reach the party downstairs, screaming in pain attempting to catch the attention of the guests below, to have someone see their sorrow, listen to their cry, instead of focusing on their extravagant and egocentric practices, those customs who make them worship material value, everything will inevitably dissipate, one day their money will start crawling down the drain, expensive food will decompose in their stomachs and maggots will feast on it, they won't be able to buy high-end silver and gold anymore, because it will suddenly match their coins, corroded until nonexistent. 

Seeking awareness of my own rumbling and how much space my body can occupy without crashing into something, my eyes navigate the drawing room, reading in between the lines, I start wondering how much time he spent here, painting.  

Rapidly I bounce down, my whole body weight laid into the floor, sticking my face against the freezing wooden boards, I manage to catch nothing out of the ordinary and after clearing the scene a hundred percent surely, my arms start to stretch across me, reaching forward, my skin rolls into itself, pinching me with the friction of the floor, I start pulling myself closer to the treasure, slinking with long spider legs disturbingly spreading and contorting... Where the fuck is it? The suitcase, where is the damned suitcase?! Panic floods over me, I notice the flashlight is too bulky to carry so low, so I leave it behind quickly, still lit up but this time targeting the wall next to me, at my right, making the forsaken fireplace burn again, but this time concealing my artificial identity instead of the nature of the other monsters, the cavity glows with a strange cave nature, the spiderwebs tingle and eat up the melting lamp gleams, this is the perfect place to forward my lantern into, no one will notice it from downstairs, and it still provides me with some faint glimpses along my path, with a tinge of dizziness I notice my mind already started ruminating too far away, the place lacks normality, and it's starting to shake me, my body feels ill.

While pulling my head away from my fallen flashlight and towards the trail ahead of me, some of my longer hairs get rebellious, escaping their tie, getting stuck into the grooves, briskly sending shivers down my spine, making my scalp burn with pain, shit, time isn't by my side, and I'm still just by the fucking entrance, this is going to make me lose a couple of minutes, wish I could just tear them off of me, but that would be so fucking disgusting! No one must know I'm here, so I start grasping them with precision, my bony fingers patiently unravel the knots clinging onto the ridges, softly and meticulously, differing from the constant surges of adrenaline that bathe me from time to time.

They let the floor go finally, some of them snapping off, I can't leave this shit behind! So much anger embraces me now, the need to punch the floor intoxicates me, but I know better, instantly I rip the tiny clump of strands upwards, lifting the surface with me, the wood protesting with its secretive voice, the bundle gave up mostly clean, the little bits of brittle genetic codes that aren't strong enough to go with my hand, seep into the floor below and fly with new-found freedom. 

Fuck! This is fucking rubbish, the old and dying floor creaks quite loudly, I gasp with frustration, acknowledging my damned luck, someone heard it? Did someone notice? They are searching for me, right? Right?!... I can't do this, I might just run away from this fucking place, as far as my legs can provide, I'm going mad, this is turning me into something I can't recognize. 

Playing dead once more, I wait for a couple of minutes, gluing my ear to the story, trying to fetch information in between shallowed breaths, letting out a sigh, I realize no one is coming upstairs, are they really that intoxicated? Their liquor is strong, wealthy shit. 

Squirming yet again, I do it more precisely this time, stretching my arms one after the other and pulling my dead weight forward, entering the heart of the drawing room, my tendons start to scream in pain, being stretched out so much, reaching new lengths, fuck don't give in now! Now I'm entering inside the belly of the abode, passing through the multiple speckled furniture, keeping their purpose of being obstacles, I see there's an elongated piano bench, some scattered smaller containers, one giant box shoved beneath an eighteen century style window and old paintings laying on the floor with rows of cabinets on just one side, possibly filled with more personal items and sculptures, and while admiring the extremely antiquated room, I realize it's time to find this thing once and for all, can't be that well hidden, it needs to be right in the other corner of the room, where the standing lamp is, that bastard expensive lampshade with that golden foot, the one who helped the artist view the easel, that inanimate criminal, having more time standing beside it than anyone else could have ever had.

The staircase is far enough from my position to try standing somehow straight again, only what I'm able to, focusing on making as little noise as possible, that means I can only bunch up into a crouch and proceed lurking this way, gaining more territory with longer laps, salvaging me some lost time and with my frame still pretty well ducked, I find an instant hideout, behind an object that feels extremely sturdy, upon eye contact, it made me feel disgusted with myself, being in presence of something that gave him an escape from the world, the piano is now protecting me too, my weight pushed to it's side to cover my body, sheltering, festering. 

Scanning the right, then sailing my eyes towards the left, millions of bloody nerves seep into my milky cornea, nothing is stopping me now, my anatomy starts to overheat, this mess, the pressure, the sounds of overloading party exuberance, copious amounts of voices and scents, so much information to process, people laugh and cheer, go slower Severus, unnoticeable, you can do this, you need to, I'm showered by dead bugs from time to time, my hair sticks to my sweat disgustingly, stitching black strands into my eyes, with my index I pull them out of my vision, this is making my stomach growl in dismay, what if they can hear me and are pretending everything is normal just to ambush me at the last second? It's so difficult to see a damn thing. 

What if they keep bodies in between these things as well? They seem to love killing, so it wouldn't be surprising... The thing is, the air lacks that sweet, carnivorous, metal tinge, so I figure there probably aren't any remains here, besides the melting paper sheets, piles of sawdust and bed bugs, I hope they don't fucking bite me, I'll collapse with disgust, and they will find me passed out here! Don't panic, there's enough time left to clean everything, they are going to find it sooner or later somehow, it doesn't matter. 

My elbow suddenly shoves into something that feels quite heavy, an object rustles from above, Did I knock something down? I turn my body to look upwards, almost sitting down to wait again, did I break an item from somewhere, the cabins? It interrupts my peaceful hiding position, making my heart rate spike again, then plummeting down into a blur, instinctively I try to protect myself, my arms open to crawl away, such a bad fucking move, made my important parts bear, the vest just a little to high to protect my stomach. 

"Fuck" I hear myself whisper while everything clouds around me, the pain is too much to bear... It lands straight into my gut, making my teeth grind painfully, shaving my enamel off, the harshness of the object slices against softness, bruising and scratching my protruding ribs, I start worming into myself, grabbing the object in dismay, blinking carefully, breathing in, I want to scream, but hold it in with so much force, this shit is making me feel cynical, electric needles start to warmly dissipate into my hot skin after a couple of minutes, pain sizzling away, after a strenuous fight of patience and laborious endurance.

For how long have I been curled up? Well, shouldn't have been much, the evening is still changing into it's descendant, waiting with patience for the darker hours, while my senses still burn in my mind with energy, shouting at me to continue. At least it fell on me and not on the floor, that would have been the end of it, even if it's comfortable to just sit and do nothing, I need to leave right now, I start smelling the little corners, quite like a rat, trying to come up with a route, I push the object off of me, but suddenly between the daze that clouds me, my eyes connect with what has been in front of me this whole time, something imposes over my curled up body, its mere presence is enough to make me flinch and send me flying into the sofa arm behind me, pushing all the air out of me. 

Even if it is quite dark right now, I know what it is, the powdery scent, the bloodstained tiny embroidered leafs, intertwining with the softest of wool textures, the millions of golden hairs stitched between the faces of sin... The art piece, woven with immoral hands over a murderous loom, looks down on me, spewing out desecrating language and inhumane ruin, while the sacrificed prey call for me to get them out of there in anguish, supplicating for them to be carved out like the non-members who were extirpated long time ago.

I try looking away from it, my senses got consumed by the sudden confusion and the relocation of my body, the monstrous object that just appeared out of nowhere blocks my path, I figure it's time to pick myself up and take the last leap towards my left, finally making eye contact with his condensed station, everything starts to get so much better, somehow I feel instantly saved, it makes me completely forget the terrible heirloom watching over me, now I can focus on trying to find what I'm looking for, without getting too close my sight scourges every corner, until I notice there's not a single thing under the easel, not even a single paint tube, the easel it's the only item left here, this used polished wood skeleton, stranded in between broken glass cabinets and greasy dark sofas, all of them dirty with the terrible passage of time, oh, what would happen if we had been given a second chance, would we be here right now? Witnessing art moving unbound on broken veins, lungs filled with passion and admiration, with every breath, pulling the strings attached to this deadly obsession, frustration rooting within the eternal chase of gain derived from oneself, after willingly stabbing yourself until you get it perfectly right, one emotion perpetually chasing after your own made genius, he never made it further than just a dream of a dead artist, we never did, he never escaped, someone must be the abandoned sheep in the tale. 

I don't think it's here, it must be in his room.

Fuck me, how I'm going to go up there? I can't... just... I'll fucking need to.

Throwing every other idea into the garbage, I need to act quickly, this can't be that complicated, the stairs are just behind the narrow hallway, extremely close to my position, probably it will be just one turn and done, my clues will be even more hidden since the next floor is the last one, the furthest story away from the people. At some point, the bells ringing in my ears rush me to escape, there are no traps, I'm comfortable enough to walk run towards the door to speed up this process, I don't want to stay with this horrible piece any longer, it felt easy to reach the same entrance I just left a little slice open a couple of minutes ago, finally leaving behind the art, the space is enough for me to slide my fingers through the other side and push softly enough to make my folded body pass through, I still move slightly crouching, around the hall that divides the drawing room with the rest of the hall, it's very close to the rail, it's just in front of me, I start hanging from it the time my hands reach towards it, looking like a demented lemur, trying to catch a glimpse downwards, I'm certain there's one special angle that monitors the whole ground floor, but I don't have enough time to spare now, and ultimately I start to tiptoe up instead, with terrible hurry, parting ways with the drawing room, destroying the remaining flight of steps, leaving behind small puffs of dust upon every single contact I make with the carpet.

Everything I manage to see surrounding me is covered with white sheets, like they recently purchased all of these fixtures but never got to unbox a single one, this whole orchestra has a lingering synthetic scent, this fucking terrible fabric is horrid, the breath I take is close to a type of rubbery plastic air, pure and squeaky, it makes me feel disoriented, until I realize with a punch straight into my gut, just as the door closes behind me, this is the room.

The warmth of the papery textures seeps out from beneath the covers and mixes with the smelly fur clinging from the original furniture scattered around, as well as because his own little pieces of wooly belongings are under it, I feel the memories hugging the lingering desolation. These rooms are quite small in comparison with the other parts of the mansion, making it very hard to make sense of it, everything is covered with those linen pieces and the only light source here, is a single lantern beam coming from the outside, shinning through the tiniest corner of the window at my right, a small panel left unconcealed, otherwise it's half hidden with something that smells a lot like rotten, maybe a table or a dresser, It's hard to identify any of the possessions in these conditions, moving feels even harsher than just seeing around, there's so much clutter, standing pillars what I assume are a couple of chairs, and on the walls tall curtains drape over, hanging peacefully all the way from the ceiling, I see a covered frame shaped as a diamond in the main wall, a lengthy rhombus barely hanging straight, above another frilly tent connecting a thin bridge over a night table that's pulling it towards a big rectangle, an alleged bed frame.

The party is still going, the music can still be recognized from all the way here, I get an instant surge of relief, my plan has been working out regarding these issues, they are playing unharmful tunes and the layers upon layers of security has been shutdown thanks to the celebration bubbling on the ground floor, my eyes double in size expecting someone to burst into the room at any moment, this is such an important infringement of their history, I'm at risk of being caught red-handed when I least expect it, but thankfully, nothing yet, they are still lavishing away, It's time to navigate this maze further. 

The furniture covered like this, so much of it, confuses me, I'm perplexed by the fact that they have it decaying here, this must cost so much more than any mind can comprehend, and it's just left behind here to perish... abandoning him to rot, his decaying clothing, broken expensive heirs, rusty jewelry, all left to die with him, it makes me remember the hollow grave, the sea salt burning off everything they lay upon the waters reach, I can't make out the difference from that one to the one left behind here, both consumed by disgrace.

This is stupid, concentrate, relax, breathe in and then out, this is fine, you will find it. 

I need to do it now, where is his precious suitcase?! I'm looking for a large box, something resembling a true pirates treasure, now I'm watching the surroundings with patience and tranquility, like reading my favorite book would feel like, slightly moving some objects without really damaging the scene further, looking for the... fucking shit! Shit! Damn my fucking life! Surprise stabs me with a bolt of electricity.

There's a couple of bags piled up right ahead! There's something interesting sticking out the fabric, a couple of what seems to be air-filled animal skins lay ahead of me, peeking through the covers, oh fuck, this shit is gruesome, are these from real animals? Well, nothing else matters anymore, this is my moment... The suitcase rests above them, just in front of my eyes! Finally! Now mine! It's mine! Mine to have. 

Crouching and trying to lift it up in silence, I finally see myself cradling it with my thin fingers, I realize it's here with me now! I'm so drained, weirdly alleviated by the finding, pondering at once about the weight of the suitcase with energy, my rings rattle against the metal details of the box, with reinforcement I push the heavy baggage into the crevice of the inside of my elbow and turn my rings with difficulty, not to lose them. It's horrible to remember tourniquets every time while spinning something like my rings, but that unintentional thought, made me remember who I am and what I'm doing, with new-found confidence I rest the suitcase again into my trembling hands, sensing the leather surface.

Fuck Sirius Black! Ha! The suitcase, it's mine! Only fucking mine.
A grin stretches across my whole face, an impulsive thin slice between my cheekbones, I will be the one solving this fucking mystery by myself, well, of course I want to avenge my friend, and all of that pathetic rules of decency, but winning above that man feels so much sweeter, I'll finally be able to torture that pathetic piece of shit. He dared to do it, he will suffer for his sin.
Something interrupts my thoughts, a disgusting beeping high-pitched sound starts to bawl. Shit! Fuck me, has it come to an end finally? I'm caught?! After all this work... I can't process the fact that this might be the last moments, alarm starts to flood me, I try to pick up any dialogue from here, my short-circuited power scarcely figuring out something coherent around all sentences they are angrily shouting... Their voices all sound similar, there's probably people I don't even know in the mix, are they looking for me? The uproar bubbles with shattering glass sounds, throwing chairs with heavy thumps or something that sounds as heavy as that, many voices arguing with each other and the music suddenly stops with a slam, that makes me venture to the door and with extreme caution open the thinnest wedge my trembling hands can hold.
Finally, I grasp some sense from Andromeda's voice, shouting like a beast about the man himself, Sirius. I can't deny I'm bemused at how she is defending him while the fight is breaking, he is not even present! Well, fuck this! At least it's concealing other sounds perfectly! I need to continue this shit, fight my way back to safety, the staircase is clear, not a single sound of hurried steps reaching the top, all of them are arguing and shouting at each other still stuck at the party, meaning it's safe enough to start my escape, they won't notice, their noses are too big to see beyond themselves.
Now crawling again, opening the door softly but with confident steps, I start listening the burn of the brawl erupting, something shakes me out of my skin, someone is warning everyone that authorities are coming, they will all start to leave as well, It's time to get the fuck out of here, but I'm still wondering how they always end up like this? Disgusting barking and yowling, is it Andromeda again? Maybe it's Narcissa, the voice, seems close enough, they speak the same, but I still might be wrong since I haven't seen one of the guests properly tonight, until I hear someone else respond, Rabastan always adores to share a piece of his twisted mind, that one voice I'll recognize even in the depths of hell. 
Breathing slows and makes my body dispatch rapidly more red cells, all of them trapped beneath my serpent skin, I start analyzing all the possible escapes, the staircase is not very far away, the hallway from the bedrooms seems to lack any open space besides it or any type of window... maybe in his room again? It would be worth to give it a shot, it's very far away from the guests, but I don't know where his window leads to, shit, I need just one chance.
Why is Sirius not here? Do they really repudiate him so much? My brain didn't even process how the suitcase looks until now, it is exceedingly antique, rich brown leather with golden stitches, it even has a rusty keyhole, somehow very elegantly upholstered with what seems a delicious velvety fabric making an appearance from inside the cover, it looks like it's lined with some faux fur, even if it's heavy, the size looks like it's property of a youngster, who had a scarce need to keep any belongings, and it's covered around every apex with an extra piece of rounded leather secured with metal nails to keep the whole structure in place, then to finalize, a sturdy handle with a tag attached to it, bitten down in between the upper and bottom shell, it really caught my attention, something seems to be scribbled on it.
How I'm going to move this shit? I try and think quick, pushing the rectangle inside my vest and between my chest, then I quickly grab some long handkerchiefs from inside the pockets of my dress pants and start attaching the handle onto the straps of my bag, securing the tactical belts with force, binding it with me and gifting me the ability to flow more comfortably around this hallway, now it's sitting nudged between my body, the frontal bag acting almost like a seat for the midsize suitcase, maybe this is the answer to how the weight will be easier to carry.
"Do you want to see the fucking pistol I keep on the cupboard? You damn coward, let me go get it then, teach you a damn lesson finally!" One of the hosts cries loudly, the staircase is ruled out, someone is coming closer, the attaching of the suitcase is bringing me many problems and killed off much time, it's trying to slip off me, the leather surface isn't adherent enough to stay in place. I resort to quickly get to my knees again and put the weight on my thighs, time hammering the surrounding walls, someone could fly up these stairs right now and see me struggling in the hallway, this is terrible, I'm getting so stressed, fuck this shit, I start knotting the handkerchiefs with more force, as quickly as my shaky hands let me, finally it seems like adjusting the straps of my lower back cinched in the tiny but mighty suitcase enough for me to pull myself up the floor, still grabbing the bottom of it just in case. 
"Finally I'm home! What happened?" Someone yowls, it sounds closer, is the arguing going to stop now? Who just came in?... I can't make sense of anything they are saying or what is going to happen next, it isn't safe for me to start exploring the lower levels anymore.
Suddenly I'm feeling extremely sick now, sweat mixes with an abrupt stabbing stomachache, I'm feeling so bad, I need to go back immediately, that little corner is telling me to run in and away from danger, lock myself up in the confinements of the simple room, provided with enough protection to shelter a lost target, I know better than anyone, scapegoats find their own salvation.
Closing the door behind me a last time I turn around and almost went stumbling into a white sheet, I compose myself and start to plod closer to the window, starting to look out for a way to get the fuck out of the castle from the inside, and hopefully find the way across the teared down apartment boxes, It needs to be through this only open space, this room is completely shut down if not for the unique glass, this new-found breakout perfectly shines before me, with the remaining scraps of human endurance my body has left, my restrained arms reach as forward as my vest lets me, pushing the supposed dresser that's blocking my view, I try pushing the weight from the left side and towards the door, it slides painfully through the wooden surface, rustling the room with every move, with every single breath I catch, I stay in place waiting patiently until the sound dies and mixes with the problems beneath, with my arms securely wrapped around it, I'm heaving with intensity and wait until it feels right to start pushing again.
It moves enough to get a final look at the big picture, like it was just sent by him as a thank-you message, I find that there's a little latch to open the bottom part of the window, it should be enough space to let me slip through the blocked crystal, but it still remains closed since it has a plank attached to it, shutting down the old glass panel, yet with only a single touch the corners of the plank seem to be flaking off, instantly I grab one hefty fallen wood skins, I find it to be the perfect object to act as a leverage to pull the rusty nails down, quickly forcing one end of the piece between the plank and the window sill, I start pressing down to start bulldozing the stupid thing, almost immediately it starts to move and give in, even tho it's settled down damn well. 
A drop of sweat navigates my eyebrow, sliding warmly all the way into my eyeball, simulating salty tears, I remember briefly the hatred of the people arguing like grandiose fake figures beneath me, forgetting who cried here, abandoned in this room, curled up between scary nightmares, screams echoing on his walls, threatening him to come and take him away.
I grab onto that fury and start pushing with new-found fervency, latching onto the damned plank, it seems to finally be getting properly destroyed now, a sudden surge of remembrance washes over me, and then I prompt the shitty stake all the way through, two oxidized nails brake in a split second, screeching and sending copper flying around, with those out, pushing the board in my direction, the whole plank gives up, and the space left is large enough to fly out. 
Cold air hits my face like a brick, the place looks haunting from down here, now darkened by midnight, snaking down the walls wasn't that difficult, the many balconies came in handy for this operation, his room didn't match with anything from the ground floor, nor with any other occupied space and upon sliding towards the back garden, I see the fake apartments hold a couple emergency metal stairs, those helped so much while climbing down towards the other side of the destroyed fake houses... Oh, these buildings made by normal looking families, trying everything to save themselves from disaster, now it aids me! Jokes on them. 
My hair runs free now, sweat starts to stick to my bilious skin, mixing together a very weird texture, slowly my arms cup the suitcase in victory and I realize time is right to repose now, breathe with novelty, catching with hunger the freshness of the forest, my eyesight starts to focus, trying to truly sharpen my senses in case it's needed to fight off any danger, the pox textured skin on the back of my neck alert me of a possible threat sulking around, felt instantly a swarm of bugs, crawling without purpose all around me, running through the bark of the old trees, my skin feels every single one itching beneath it, they watch me, maybe driven into the same fear, guarding themselves, expectant to be murdered by nature.
How does it feel? Waiting for your imminent demise, knowing it will happen, at any moment, any heartbeat, right in the innards, bloody insides being massacred, misplaced, experimented on, cut down for a terrible outcome, the moon stares at me cold, It's pointing way past midnight now, late obscurity has always been a classic companion of mine, oh so terrifying, yet it's succulent lure and yawning mystery make me feel at home, rejoicing with the shadows and becoming one of them, one with the creatures, those who are plagued with famine, briefly fed by the quiet and silent, finally, some peace from my normal life, sinking into the darkness of a forest, my paradise. 
My electric hair strands tickle my back, I'm running free around these vast woods, racing with the night sky, filled with many stars to light up my path. Shit, this is making me remember how much I hate Sirius, my thoughts are interrupted by his looming presence, what he doesn't know, is that after today, only human ashes remain on that beloved room, the one I managed to steal the heart from, that same heart, that's now breathing around me, nuzzled inside green lungs, the forest hugging it with warmth. 
What would happen if something would pull my hair? Here in the dark, when no one is watching, another person, that could be possible, the slaughterer perhaps, or the people from the party caught up to my culprit steps, I'm distracted, running past everything, with many blind spots, they would be able to do the worst and hurt my undefended fragments, maybe a second hit in the stomach? Someone is going to strangle me, trying to scoop my eyes out, pull dry and brittle strands from my scalp. Oh my, this mind is already loosing itself, this mission needs to be completed, I can't let this happen, I call for the cadavers of the sea, to help me on my journey, slow, growling chants wake me up, telling me to go to the castle for now and skip the difficult trek towards any other place, the exhaustion is starting to make me think fantastical things.
Familiar buildings and homely scents welcome me with a flash, still earthy but deeper and warmer, some white florals and woody spices, the castle is now towering over me, clouding my vision, while I'm still lurking in the gardens, looking for this particular empty tower to sneak into, gray pebbles are mixed with faint lanterns, they are bubbling drippy wax, just the necessary light to bright up some corridors in case of an emergency, but still full of absence and hollowness, that overall ruin you feel being in a space where everyone is asleep. For now, I'm safe, nothing bad happened, I sigh with much relief, the suitcase escapes from the prison my shaky arms have build, it's dangling peacefully from the handle now, pulled by my sleepy skin, trying to act as natural as possible.
Walking back into the castle, trying my best to be silent, I have only one disturbance that plagues me now, wondering what would happen if this investigation continues? Trying to seek justice of a murder, all by myself, is such dangerous territory. Maybe this obsession will direct me towards something else, something more brutal, disrupting the progress of time, If the plan is to continue digging out, maybe I'll find something decaying sourly, something nobody wants to find, would they kick me out of the castle? Why have they been so helpful in offering me a spot to stay in the first place? I accepted the offer just to find out why, since I don't think it's because my pretty fucking face or the barely enough effort I put into the job. Before this, I preferred to sleep somewhere else, perhaps a friends place or paying for a couch, it seemed stressful to be living inside your workplace at the time, but now, regardless of that problem, the free living space and mandatory food they give me, translates into free benefits for my stay, and I need to accept that this investigation has consumed too many resources and energy off of my body, so, accepting this job of standby professor in exchange for a place to sleep and boring cafeteria lunches, is the best option for now.
Besides all the restaurant and café hoping to forget the repetitive meals they offer, the castle grounds have been welcoming to me, because figuring out my path has been hard enough, I'm still fighting against the little knowledge I have regarding what to do next with my life, but at least here, I have a space to be myself and develop my passion for the obscure in fucking peace, as well as figuring out this hell of a case, the only thing I'm sure of now, is being devoted to my own craft, hopefully I'll be achieving something someday, at least try and be a better successor of the big clowns that supposedly taught me while growing up, those jesters that call themselves mentors. That's why, I don't care much about staying here, decaying alongside this place, maybe my sacrifice will mean something, not like the perdition that surrounds me. 
I haven't forgiven anyone yet, and now that I can watch them closely, that anger has been ever-growing, consuming me and making me the chosen one to witness everything that's been occurring, now I am the one watching with excruciating detail, they want power, I know it. 
My nervous system screams at me all the time, this people can't be trusted, something is telling me about an extremely wrong plot that has been happening behind the scenes, not the usual type of problems, something bigger has been brewing for a long time, everyone knows the obvious, that we got out of their control since a very long time ago, and we are now plaguing the institution again, we never really went away, they have never seen this type of graduates before and are scared to see us still around, at least the only left survivors... We are clinging, ripping life apart with force, trying not to get washed out by the tide, no one can do it like us, after all. My generation changed the course of time and that resulted into many people getting intimidated, ultimately abandoning us in response, treating us like shit and disposing our abilities and potential, they failed and wronged us.
Lastly, another contributing factor for their secretive behavior is the decline in new students, no one wants to study at Hogwarts's anymore, since the accident took place, people have been terrified, including me, sadness grasping everything with painful asphyxiation, no one is safe here any longer, we have known this since forever, they have always been expecting the worse to happen and continue to do nothing, that's why I believe they want to keep me close to this place, to manage my operations and have a buffer against any possible heist that will bring them down, they think I have information that's useful, wanting to use my sinister ties to learn about the other side of life, the grim one, gain insider knowledge, hidden surveillance, anything to keep this place still breathing, conceal any problems sipping through the seams, keep their perfect mask on. 
Counterattacking with the same principle, I like to keep myself on the low, hiding behind marble walls, listening to secret whispers, participating in unknown conversations and be up-to-date with the latest power settlements. Nothing comes without a cost, and they don't even notice how they are the ones falling prey to me instead, making me the one who is gathering the details, all the important messages they snoop in secret, big amounts of intelligence gets exchanged in what seems like normal everyday conversations, all of it flowing directly into to my ears. 
But regardless, questions about the incident remain unanswered, anyone can be the killer of the horde of victims, the many offerings.
I haven't been able to figure out the involvement of the institution and their workers with that particular problem, at least for now, and this just makes my blood boil with anger and repulsion! I want, desire, hunger, to know what happened, to seek and hear the harmonious sound coming from the bronze scale that Dike carries, lady of justice, punching down in remembrance for the unafraid souls whose life has been bitten away without any mercy. 
Even if my heart yells at me, that this is the correct thing to do, sometimes is hard to keep going, since he probably won't be able to just rest, ever again, this won't bring him, or any other one of us, back.
His spirit has been dragged into the unknown, the marks left on his skin will never be erased, nothing is enough to melt them away, even if the water tries to swallow it, even if generations pass by, it will still be there. We are so different from each other, yet, this case still manages to blemish me, why? What's the reason behind this, the meaning behind following this specific crime? It haunts me not to know why my brain is so drawn by it, so moved, something feels wrong, it sits heavily on my stomach, it unsettles me in an abnormal way, exactly like doing dirty dishes or touching wrapped clothing, just restfulness, unsolved matters distress me heavily, that's probably the answer to why this mystery is so alluring to me... And also, my own regrets.
These grievances are coming back every day, my personal condemnation, shouting at me, begging for pardon, I just limit myself to bow against their power, everything nestles inside me alongside lots of despair, we both cannibalize each other, hugging tightly and rotting within the old walls, becoming a single thing, inside a room that has been disposed off like me.
This garbage shithole has been abandoned for a long time, it's adjacent to the dungeons, next to one of our highest towers, it's an old cleaning room, where I used to escape while studying here all of those years ago, and now it has been emptied out and given to me, how things come to be at the end, a repeated story. 
Discolored cream walls breathe out, they have a consciousness of their own and probably have seen so much more than any person's lifetime, the frail experiences of the people who have had the pleasure to share moments confined into this castle, don't stand a single chance against it. Even if my feelings are not, the room itself It's warm and safe, a metal bed lined with puffy and fresh sheets its giving a statement by its own, more of a silent one but still remains an important piece of the assemblage, very simple and clean, the softness gifts me the aroma of clean wool, cedar pines and some bright sparkles of sage coming from the forest outside, then after that, I find some clear flashes of toasted wallpaper, cooked thanks to the limitless sun and clinging dust.
Every time I open the door, I see a severed head standing by the window, it doesn't have eyes anymore, and it doesn't seem to be anyone I know, the bloodiness runs from its wounds and flows down to the floor, there seems to be always a mess around it too, like pieces of teeth, clumps of hair, deteriorated skin chunks and mandibles, but never eyes. It's truly the sight of a blood crier, meant to be sinless but dirtied by the pain that human remains carry, and we are not the ones to be a sign of goodness, we were meant to be part of a divine comedy and serve as puppets for the big play, this body is useless, only perceived by the other, the judge, never really free from the confinement of being trapped between this meat vessel, does it hurt? Sometimes, your insides will yell, trying to escape. 

Clear light seems to be enough to forget the sight, I try to keep the place full of light fixtures, and I'm always flicking all of them on, and of course, other people help to tone down the terrible things happening too.

Here many memories have been interconnected, the endless days I've spent debating, laughing and worrying with my close friends circle, I still have everything burned into my memory, Igor, Rosier, Avery, Reggie, Mulciber, Wilkes... When we reunite we are unstoppable, always portioning what our minds are busy with, tons of impossible questions to answer or even just a couple of minutes of silence, we would talk about others, what they were doing or if they messed with us, rotating words around music notes, tales about fantastic books, pieces of lost scriptures and the meaning of life, we scrapped ideas written on dozens of crumbled up paper and littered the floor as we threw them, copying the style of the most expensive vintage decoration you could ever purchase, even better because it had more sentimental value as one. 

My gang of shitheads. I still see all of them like it was years ago, curled up inside this secret coven, using the space at the window sill to rest, with the heater dangerously close, I always wondered if it ever burned someone, but no one ever had a complaint, so I ignored it and proceeded to use my cassette player if the situation was proper, some quiet voiceless music would be the perfect ambience centerpiece of the evening, oh, and when it rains, it's a complete different story, the beautiful rectangular window will sing happily a melody composed by thousands of tapping sounds, lifting the darkest of moods, I adore this room, this place has something very dear. It attracts the broken, the pathless, confused and pained, I'm always remembering myself these phenomena, and a specific situation comes up to mind, the day someone was looking for shelter, it happened regularly, but this time was different, it felt somehow out of place, very much so, but still, this is one of my dearest memories.

The last period studying here was threatening to an end, and I was starting to prepare myself to explore the real world, hopefully decide what to do with my boring life and somehow have everything set up for it by now, it hasn't worked out yet, but at the time we still had a good chunk of time left for the inevitable end, a little period of grace to figure it out together, enough to plead for aid. Here, of all places, my beloved makeshift dormitory, very functional at the time, curves alongside the downside of the tower who conducts to Slytherin dungeons, almost at the beautiful gardens, with that influence seeping through the veins of the woodland, bleeding into my room, I got really eager to escape from this hell, one of the worst days ever, and to top it off something disturbs my peace while coming back from the library, Peter knocking at my door that fall. 

Often times Peter Pettigrew would be roaming around the hallways alone, he would come up to me just a handful of times, and we would end up having a very plain and polite conversation, and never managed to get very close, but he slowly started to open up a bit more and surprisingly, now his figure is standing before me, talking about something that just happened to him, an occurrence that really saddened his mood and drained all of his emotions out, alright, Peter is asking to spend some time with me. 

"I don't know if I can, I mean, I'll read some books in my room, play some boring cassettes that were... burrowed, from the library and try to concentrate on my study session and all of that nonsensical activities." I apologize to lower his expectations.

His voice is almost always at a point that it will break at any second, but today it sounds even worse. "It's okay for me, I don't mind... I just want to get out of this place, far from there... for a while at least!" He wraps his arms around his chest. "Let's make a deal, I'll sneak in some snacks and even more cassettes, probably you don't even know where they hide those extra ones!!! And you let me in!" His eyes double in size, the pupil covering everything like a dark, watery marble.

I look at him with an unsure glance, that sounds a bit more interesting, "Are you sure you can get them now?" My question follows my marveled expression.

"Yes and you know what?! I'll bring Lucius, he can probably sell us a couple of hours for a good price with the TV." He seems weirdly excited.

"I thought you hated each other." I ask, bleated.

"If there is money involved, count on him." Peter smiles and fidgets with his hands but still continues staring at me.

"Let me think, wait here." Instantly walking back to my room, I leave the door half open for him to wait.

My mind found itself a bit confused, what an interesting gathering of people coming over, I start to bite my nails naturally, putting some thought into it, well, why not? It might be fun to know these people a bit more in depth, they will give me free stuff too, so I'm gaining something in this exchange, well and thinking about Lucius, his presence can feel unsettling, but it would help Peter ease his worries, he isn't hostile with either of us and even likes to immerse himself into our conversations from time to time, even the ones with my closest group, while still remaining generally reserved to us, he is very respectful, thus, it sounds good to go halves with his electronics, maybe we can break the ice and turn into a synergetic force in the future, if we ever need to, since it's terrifying how smart Lucius is, he is good at everything, and he might be helpful somehow, we need to ensure who we can trust here. 

Now, it's polite enough to come out and talk to Peter again, he looks at me back with those annoying beady eyes. 

"Well, I looked into it, the deal sounds interesting, if you manage to convince him and bring the goods, the door will be open, if not... I'll rethink this exchange." I insinuate.

"Oh! Yes! Yea, yea! Of course, sounds good, I'll be back soon!" He tells me perplexed.  His new-found positive energy is quite agreeable, he runs with emotion, with his plaid woolen jacket flying behind him, the scene is making me feel for him and wonder how human emotions can be so fragile, like a dry flower petal.

He was true to his promise and brought back not only a couple of smelly brown paper bags but also brought a struggling Lucius lifting a hefty box, the TV lays painfully between heavy breaths, Peter throws at me the bags and continues on helping Lucius on the other side of the dense object, both walking lopsided, while opening the door for them, I try to make the path easier, they almost let the device fall down to the floor right as they squeeze through the entrance, but still tried to be as careful as possible, eventually passing in one piece and got it with only a couple of scratches.

"Haven't seen you around for a while." Lucius mutters with his solid voice, upon resting the box down and dusting off his fingers.

"Same as for you, I'm surprised you accepted, Malfoy." My voice snickers.

"Yea, whatever... actually those stupid prats that sleep in the bunk beds next to me keep on blasting their fucking lovely, loud as shit music, and the thing is, they do it the whole fucking night, what a bunch of skunks, it makes my eye bags so much worse, and sorry for the cursing." He laments and touches his purple half moons.

"I can imagine." Processing what he just said, my heart instantly feels the room shift into a lighter mood.

"Also, someone broke into our place and used my cassette player when I was out, mine! What a disgusting group of nicks! I know it's a crazy thing to have this type of stuff here and people go crazy over it, but that's no excuse! And thanks to that, I figured out, I need to store this TV properly, I'm looking for a space for it, if you have one, of course." He scans the room for an outlet.

"There, besides the dresser." The dresser that now contains the suitcase, only if time could turn back, I would have shouted from the bottom of my lungs all the information, everything, before it was too late.

He really likes to complain I think to myself at that moment, but either way, I point towards a powdery and slightly moldy part of the room, a small rectangle at my right that deviates from the main furniture, almost forming a very squashed down L form if you see the room from above. The window is decorating the northern part of the room, parallel with the door in front, the bed placed sideways on the left wall, facing the glass with the heater just beneath it, if I sit on the bed, looking at that nook where the dresser is shoved into, the wall behind me acts as good place to rest my back for TV night.

Lucius plugs the machine and a rusty sound immediately fills the room, bubbling static energizes all of our gloomy moods and I decide to not close the window and leave it open halfway, gifting the room a flow of very fresh and crisp air, after that, I nuzzle myself between my mushy blankets and soft pillows.

"Perfect guys! I'm so excited to watch TV, I won't eat with you, maybe snacks only, but there's plenty of food in the bags." Peter chimes in and stares at the entertainment, Lucius moving the button in a circular motion to find something fun to watch.

"Thank you, Peter, that's awesome, let me see... Oh, and please take any seat you like." I offer in a courteous way, while stretching my hands towards the floor from above my bed.

Instantly grabbing the bags with a hungered tummy, I find this is perfect! In them, they are some packaged puddings, two burgers, three water bottles and some cookies, something very heavy threatens to open the bag and split it in half, a whole jar filled with peanuts... Alright?... I guess so? Ignoring it, I move the jar to one side and then push away some stuff to reach the cookies, it's feels like a refillable bag, it never runs out! This is a very surprising haul, impressive amount of snacks.

"Why is a whole damn jar full of millions of peanuts in here?" I joke, containing my laughter.

"I ask for the bean bag!" Peter disregards my question and goes straight to fluffing up the nice seat.

"Okay take it, I'll stay here... I'll grab a burger and a cookie." Starting to make myself comfortable too, scattering the other bags on the floor for anyone to grab.

"Here, this will be the channel we watch and if someone complains, know I'm not getting up to change a damn thing." Lucius sneers.

"Fine! Here take some food, the cold pudding will make your eye bags go away, I know that your features need to be perfect! And you will skip your beauty sleep tonight... Oh! What a tragedy! And please start by picking that nose of yours, it's full of shit." I laugh at him.

Peter laughs too, Lucius instantly pulling a surprised and offended face, sitting down on the floor, using the side of the bed as back rest, just beneath my crisscrossed legs. I look towards Peter, he is sitting comfortably too, very happy looking on the bean bag at my left, with the window right above him, lighting up the room with the bits of remaining sun, the same beam lights up a hungry Lucius scavenging the bags, in fact, he is taking a pudding.

"Oh!" Peter exclaims in a very loud voice when he saw the things he brought again, "Yes! THE peanut jar, give it to me! Severus, it's one of my favorite things in the whole world, this is my daily nurture! Your question isn't even close to how important this is." He recounts.

Until now, he realizes my comment from earlier, oh, what a thing. Peter grabs a bunched up handkerchief from one of his busy shirt pockets, a paper clip falling down with it and scoops a handful of the peanuts inside, making a tiny bowl with his cupped hands, eyes stuck to the TV, reflecting the images on his watery eyes like the colors refracting on a soap bubble.  

"Sounds good, Peter, I'll apologize to the jar later. "I giggle and start watching.

The program is quite boring for me in my opinion, already knew the whole plot just by watching a single dialogue, but with the previous threat from Lucius, I'm not planning to move from my comfy spot, and on top of that everything starts to stink like syrupy praline and cheap grease.

"You, broom hair! If you say once more that my nose it's dirty, promise you, I'll never give you hair care suggestions anymore, I don't even know if they work, you still look like shit Snape." Lucius threatens after some minutes of silent watching, then he starts to open his pudding, I couldn't contain my laughter anymore, choking on my burger, Peter sinks into the bean bag, trying to hide his own.

"Oh shit, I'm dying! You can't do that to me! Hey, they are excellent tips in my experience, wouldn't be able to tame my broom hair without them." I struggle and cough, this damned food went into the wrong pipe.

"Your eyes look so funny! Like they are just going to come out of their sockets!" Peter guffaws with emotion.

"Peter! My life was just in danger, and you are so calm eating that weird ass squirrel food." I join his banter, throwing some cookie pieces into his direction.

"Never talk like that to me! Or I won't give you this water, so you really struggle and do asphyxiate this time!" He smiles wickedly, picking up the bottles and cradling them against him. 

Lucius looks at Peter, suddenly his smile dropping. "Give him the damn water... you stop throwing things like a dumbass, or this won't end up funny..." He cusses, making us go silent and stop the brawling, after a couple of minutes he talks over us again.

"Now, the important question here is, do my nose really looks dirty?" His strong voice now strained by worry, echoing around us, we explode into laughter once again, unable to control it any longer.

With that sunny note, we start sharing opinions, dividing ourselves into pieces of commentary about the multiple shows and then eating every single one of the snacks, the burger tastes like heaven, a paradise of salty greasiness, a dry bun with a sappy round cut meat mixture, topped with sliced cheesy goodness, every single dark orange splinter sour and smooth on the palate, and the water did little to nothing on washing it down, so I decide to go for the cookie to chase my over sensible palate, to change the tired profile, but confused my body even more, it's overly decadent sweetness washes over me, and left a craving of salty again, so the second bottle of water took the spotlight, doing a slightly better job at drowning the mushy treat than with the meal. Peter almost fell asleep a couple of times, but his never ending energy and positivity kept his reflecting eyes awake, glued diligently to the screen, doped with salt and hissing every time someone got to close to his peanut gather, as well as complain about how bad people perform quite unlikely to happen scenes, I notice his liking for sticky overly complex Drama, depicting normal lives intertwined with amusing gossip within terrible, difficult, yet lively bonds between the characters, while Lucius and I much prefer to sit through the fun challenge of copious amounts of Science Fiction shows, even if we can't always catch the episodes sequentially, we manage to find ourselves being lucky today, and immerse our brains around adventures of a witty space traveler with an interesting scarf knotted around his neck, a bit of a birds nest for hair and cranky humor. The scenes depicting the universe look so cool, filled with colorful spots that look edible, crunchy and rock covered speckles, it looks so much like sprinkles flying statically on a dark background, I like that universe interpretation. The creatures of the other planets are fascinating and intimidating, they always appear with some type of smoke or ominous trance and cool music, I adore this because every single time I wonder if all of us break the sense of time and travel through it right now, where would we end? I want it to happen so bad! Every time, that's my only focus, I'm alert of any single rustle or movement, this might happen anytime, and as for now, we aren't really prepared, only me. At last, I wish we don't cross paths and don't find ourselves being in the terrifying presence of that alien man, the one that has very eerie and scary dark clothing on, with that antenna looking mask around his pale face, it kind of scared me for a bit, quite impressive aura, and the strange feeling is highlighted by the impending doom of being lost around a thin veil of the universe, impossible to get out before you complete your mission.

When the episode ended, another science program follows, we don't know much about this one in particular but start to watch the episode anyway, just to see what is up, I see an interesting build up forming, until very difficult to engage in scenes start to play, a bit less entertaining for me, but we kept our focus until this particular character gets introduced, the name Cygnus Alpha gets announced and echoes through the room's walls, chills instantly run down my spine, I sprint from my bed to change the channel right the fuck now, making the wires spring and rustle, thankfully Peter is immersed into one of his brief periods of slumber, eaten up by the fluffy fabric of the bean bag, I believe one of my personal friends brought it one time to spend time here more comfortably, I don't know who, I tend to forget some pieces of my younger years, alas, they never took interest on taking it home again, so the bean bag is now mine and helps me host useful people for our plans, it serves me well, and now conceals our sudden worry, because in this situation Peter doesn't need to know anything about this.
I know the name makes Lucius as uncomfortable as me, by the look on his face and his restless limbs, we both understood each other as he stares at the screen in silent agreement, limiting himself to wait until the channel moves onto the next program, abruptly the static stops after turning the button, passing through a couple of actors and actresses, houses, and gardens, but within seconds, the perfect timeline clicks, the show now playing makes us smile in unison, they were playing one of our favorites, we got quite lucky to catch the episode, if it wasn't because of the channel change, we would have missed it. 
In a way, it's like the world just decides to laugh at my face, even if I really adore this type of program, it makes me feel defeated and depressed in a way, reminiscing throughout the whole investigation experience with him, since not comparing myself with the narrative feels quite impossible, I still pull through the dread as good as I can, and enjoy the secret agent program, admiring the ability of the investigator of being so serious, composed, cynical and rebellious, I admire and envy him at the same time, I want his intelligence.

Lucius continues sharp and very serious throughout the whole conversations, his gaze letting his state be known more on the low, his eyebrows slightly tilted downwards, denoting his slowly growing exhaustion, as for me, I don't need sleep yet, some people would say otherwise tho, always pointing out my midnight raccoon eyes, bloody roots slowly creeping into my skin like a leafless tree, but my body is still restless, full of the energy that those interesting people on the screen gift me, I live with them all the adventures they are going through, we talk about them and judge their reactions, until I notice my vocal cords start hurting, and the surface of my cushion skin starts to feel cold, the night bathing us with tinges of freshness, I look outside the window, it's already very dark, even tho it didn't feel like much time has passed, I start lowering my gaze from the glass and get a last glimpse of Peter, completely airless on the seat, his breath shallow and now not opening his eyes to grab onto any more information anymore, his asleep figure gets shaken thanks to a slightly annoyed but giggling Lucius, after no response he gets up and pulls him from the arm, his figure sank down reaching the floor, upon contact it scares him and punches him into the real world sourly. 

I gingerly remember Igor, it would have been more fun to have him here right now and his extreme facility and somewhat a type of devotion he has with sleeping, of course to make fun off, instead of this weird ass people, but oh well, it has been alright so far.

Lucius looks down on him frustrated, "Alright buddy, time to get up, come on, we need to get going now", he starts dragging him towards the door, Peter slowly crawls up, so sleepy his balance quickly depletes with every step, huddled around a pillow he just robbed from me, probably while I was distracted watching the shows, now Malfoy is sulking at his side, not necessarily helping much but carefully watching all his goofy footsteps just in case he falls, while we agreed on leaving the TV in my room, I got quickly convinced by him, it is a better place to have it protected from the others, and well, that's that. 

Ominous silence took grasp of the surroundings again after being left alone, only the sweet song of the rain droplets seem to remain loud and fresh, tinkling bells entering the shadows through the window, my steps feel like they are floating on earth, I'm getting closer to the crystal, this one is gracefully lit by the dewy, glistening night, I see a spider laying on the horizontal sill, it didn't move and made my heart turn upset.

One of their legs looks crooked, curling up in a zigzag shape. Any hopes of the creature still being alive got instantly erased when a big droplet of water made the skinny figure float and swim, already making me decide to give it a tranquil goodbye, I grab it with purpled hands and notice a tuft of fur or a piece of what looks like lost skin from other animal left behind on the place it was resting, probably left from the dinner it had before its rest.

With my hands cupped close to a bush next to the glass, it slides peacefully down the waterfall my palms create, that feeling of running ocean, with the heavy rain piercing my skin, made me remember nature is a force that not even the bravest princes, queens and warriors will ever be able to fight against, all of that classical characters living and breathing in the books I immerse myself into, no one ever can do anything against an earth that wants to consume you. As for the dead spider, it will be forever tranquil now, swimming in the night, a declaration for the end, now fortunate enough to go with all restfulness, I'll be the one who remembers it and recall it's deserving of grace. Only for being a spider, it's judged and sentenced to violence, how heartless people can be, destroying the weak, nature will be softer and kinder than us, warm and welcoming towards everyone, sheltered and snug like my bed, engulfing me with peace after this exchange.

This last feeling transports me back to the present, still enjoying the comfort of the same bed, even if the center has collapsed with time, and I notice my room tastes earthy and submerged in water, it feels like something is here with me, making me company, I picked this old utility room to be my personal dormitory for this very reason, the window that reaches towards the forest, where many creatures live and split a tiny space with me, sinking between the cracks of the rocks. 

Sunken, like the green bubbly lichen devouring rotten arms, greyed out by the salt and cold, with dirt filling nail beds, those scraping the surface in an attempt to not be taken, calling for help, screaming for my hands to pull them out, some of these creatures, lack any fortunate destiny, they are faulted... doomed and lost forever to a grotesque dance with their own dead selves, their corpse standing tall behind their sad fate, never being able to find an adequate time to kill them off completely. 

That's why I do this and take these decisions, trying to fix what I have done wrong, since little, I've faced that sorrow... Why... I can't seem to understand, there are some of us that suffer from what looks like an eternal bad ending, we try and await to be respected and be given mercy, wait, not given... Awarded, you achieve it right? After enough deprivation? Until gaining sufficient agony. 

It's such a torture, to be eternally searching for a solution, try and make things better, without any success, we are all miseries, that's why we started to share the torture with each other, to make it more bearable, our group has created a place that resembles its own paradise, ever so meaningful, so much more than our troubled lives outside, it makes all of us taste something else than solitude or affliction, that's the reason this keeps on wounding me, they took a victim from our hands, my fingers unable to clean the sacrifice, shit, we were all destined for failure.

You are ached for, Regulus. He is one of the best additions to the team, he would have given anything he could, anything his offended, bruised and tortured hands could provide, and the whole group paid him back by giving him a margin he could control all by himself, it granted him peace outside his house, and finally he would earn his own appointed title of leader someday... Who killed Regulus Black? This isn't an accident, I know it.

For now on, the group is trying to stay afloat, even if we know that fact, there's something that doesn't want to grant us liberty, we are still carrying giant amounts of our own misery behind our slashed backs, together with the endless raising problems and tiring, heavy consciences, yet we still continue, led by me. 

We already lost Barty, caged like a bird, we lost Regulus, snatched out of everyone's embrace into the cold of doom, then Wilkes, leaving an empty space in our unit, but regardless of that matter, now that I think about it, he never really did something outstanding for us, we do still agree that we miss his presence and always wonder what has been of him, because during our time studying together he rotated schools very often and worried us, so his life has always been fragile like a butterfly antenna, breaking their thorax and leaving his skin powdery. Last of all, we have Mulciber, who died so young, the bloody hands of the culprits, his parents. 

At least the one killer who has been following us now, can't reach him anymore, that is the only scrap of justice tossed at our infected hands, my heart weeps for him every day.

They are free now, flying with bloody wings, spreading into midnight with red droplets firing acid rain, never bothered again by the human pain, forgetting how wounded they are by the angry world around them and the knifes their families relentlessly stabbed them with, now they are alone and bound by nothing else than themselves.

Finally, forever governor of his anchor, shall we rejoice and sing to our own inevitable ends.

Nightmares came back, since bringing the suitcase here, there's something that has been bothering me relentlessly, it is making me ravenous, every single thought I have leads towards trying to keep the secret safe, at least for now of course, I'll need to wait patiently until the information is ready to be shared but only if it's in my fucking way, and be completely sure everything is ready to manage the downfall afterwards. Since keeping this thing here, I have never dared to open it, seasons pass, and I've never pulled myself to do so, gray crunchy leafs start to disintegrate into pits of dirty water, preparing to freeze with the upcoming winter, while in the Great Hall, roasted vegetables turn into soups and the coats are now fluffier around my peers, the air morphing into more of cinnamon flavored hue, and the floating candles feel like they are not enough anymore, while the forbidden day meant for opening the suitcase still tastes very far away, the thing is still festering, awaiting, resting in my dresser, everyday it's threatening me, filling up with suppuration, many terrible hallucinations plague my rest, they grow everyday more persistent, the suitcase has started to inflate, breathing with blood inside, a great vessel, scraping the doors with its metal clasps, yelling at me to be liberated.

Slowly it drips onto my floor, a flow of matter exudes from the old wardrobe, messing up my beautiful room and ruining my belongings, sometimes it's viscera, repulsive organs smashed together inside the case and running outside, whispering things to me, eyeballs will spring from the door, rolling down everywhere, the first thing that occurs to me is sprout out of bed very quickly, running for the exit, if that means a path to safety, I'll endure stepping on this floor, it felt like a perfect portal that will transport me somewhere peaceful, without this display of perdition, but a knife butchers my attempts to escape this hellfire, I try my best not to touch any of those things, my clean socks would manage to splash the guts in some way or another, it didn't matter how much care I try to walk with. Every single time, without escape, this recurrent nightmare makes me feel millions of those gruesome organs and eyeballs below me, watching carefully, the whole night passes away this way, saved only by the sunlight.

My body convulses panic attacks outwards, every single time after going through that Calvary, waking up feels like paradise now and thanks to this situation, never again I've complained about feeling depressed while starting my day early. 

It's weird for me, having night terrors after growing up and everything looking calm for so long, that's not me, I need to get out of this shit! RUN, I need to run away! This is, impossible to endure any longer, I'm dying... Every night I truly feel like I'm dying, this can't be happening to me. 

Sticking to starvation, anger in the pulse, the waves laughing, wash over my ears, licking them salty clean, whispering lullabies, trying to convince somehow, that this is righteous. 

A long vest is clinging to the meatless bones of the figure, the fabric running alongside cold air, waving off of it like a death announcing flag, the bottom of the cloak licking the open bones of a sick spine attached to a decaying pelvis.

My face lifts towards the vault of the skies, to try and see this extreme great attraction, have I seen this before? These are not mountains suitable for enough build up of snow... I swear this wasn't here before during my usual walks, a decaying ski lift, it's impossible to see if the machinery is moving at all, with the corner of my eye the only thing I catch is one freckle of difference between where it was before and now, it's barely noticeable if it's doing anything, the sound that it makes helps me understand more clearly that it does move but extremely slow, copious amounts of deadly creaks whirling inside puffy bubbles of mist, I move my ocular organs around, pieces of skin are hanging and dripping red from the seats.

There's something terribly alluring about it, curiosity tugs at my limbs, I want to see this structure closer, it's so terribly bizarre, I wonder, have I finally broke the passage of time and fell down the fabrics of the universe? Everything turns suddenly dangerous, and the world grabs me by the neck like a hungry hunter, my hounds look at me ravaging, my anger is ready to protect us, this is an opportunity some will decline, but such unique set of events will never repeat, let me be brave like the fake superstars of my favorite shows, they are faulty humans like me, learning as they get presented with problems, I can do this. 

This whole situation rests only on my hands, I need to figure out how I'm going to hop my body weight onto one of these corroding metal cages, the next bunch of them coming down have less disgusting matter clumped above them, it really looks like a butchers shop, where you would choose the red pulp you want and buy it from the cells presented in front of your shadow, as they approach I slowly move closer, venturing to share the same breathing space as them, surprisingly the terrible sight only has a very faint scent, muzzy disinfectant and smoky saltiness like cured cold cuts. The space in between us, closes enough to venture my hand further, I don't feel anything but my fingers quake while this natural human instinct develops, the need to try and make sense of something with my sense of touch encourages me further, I place my fingers on the surface of the next chair, right in my field of vision, it feels scratchy and dirty, like this contact will start to burn my dermis and infect it forever, the same bacteria who are eating my organs right now, it will spread eventually, I instantly start getting sick by the tarnished death around me, it's crawling inside already, just by standing here, I want to peel my skin off and wash it chemically, then put it on again all clean.

I jump without further hesitation, it screams back in repulsion at me, the mouth has only half a bar to protect me, I don't really mind, at this speed it would be impossible to fall out, and the prospect of bringing back this information sounds stupendous, I'll be telling everyone back at the castle what I dared to do today, or to my friends at least, that sounds better, oh well, I don't really know now, maybe I should restrain from this particular one, they won't believe half of what is happening to me right now, I don't even believe it myself, I must have been sleep walking and got lost in the woods... is this an abandoned transportation thingy or possibly a delivery contraption? There must be civilization close, I can't tell for sure, but there's a long snake of dirt scooped out of the moor, it must be some type of path that leads the old owners towards this structure. 

In between these thoughts, I perceive something different, the pace slowly starts picking up, did this garbage notice my presence?! I kick it with both my hands, it moves even faster now, oscillating my skeleton violently, my hits prompt it further, Why is it moving into the trees! It's getting faster, I don't like this... I can't fucking fall off this shit! I'm reaching the top of those bastards, the leafs are rustling against me, making me wobble, the carriage is moving vertiginous, I'm lightheaded, now what?! Now actually what the fuck, this is my end!!! I'm trapped! Let me get out of here, this is so fucking claustrophobic, there's no possible way to drop to the floor anymore, I look down on it, it is now far, very far, shit, is it going even faster now? Alright breathe, it's one, staying on and grasp the bright burning air from above, like the angel who got scorched by his sun, or, just break my legs throwing myself towards the ground, and possibly finally die. Why this shit is getting faster! My hands try the half rail blocking my way, it's not stuck but its falling apart instead, it won't even do much, I'm just trying to feel less trapped, there's no solution, it's done, my brain is going miles per hour, why I am sweating so much?! I want to scream, what is next to me?!!!!!!!!! WHAT IS NEXT TO ME! My head turns a whole one eighty, there's a body sitting on the other side of the line, soggy gray skin clinging to quiet limbs, hollow eyes, dark like just crying, dark murk flowing like tears, lips infested by daring mosquitoes, ready to fall down and ski through the mountain, a stupid lump falls off of it and the trail of blood slides down the soil.  I'll sacrifice myself! Take no one else but me, don't take him! This is my limit and even if my friends won't find me, that's okay, they are strong and capable of mourning, then forgetting, this is my time to go! The world starts to whirl in what feels like a second as I jump off the carriage, it feels like falling down while walking on concrete, everything goes in circles but my eye's blackout in pain, with that natural urge to feel the earth beneath me, I need to fall now! The angel who escapes Crete, can't resist the calling, we want earth to consume us and meet death, my body really wants to crash down now, perish in the water of nothingness, not to be flying in the sky, I'm getting closer, I'm dying and splashing my body on the pasture.

Did I complete the fall? Am I the dead one... please?... An annoying tone rings on my ears, a linear buzz calls me awake, I'm now in front of a gushing wound on the surface of the small hill, I'm laying down, are my legs working? I command them to move, and they do as I say, nothing really happened, but I'm stuck here... Can't believe my poor brain just slept on me, this isn't the right time and why the fuck I am in the forest? I want to go back to my bed, what happened? Did I walk here? That can't be possible, I'm going crazy, this isn't working anymore, I can't call someone to fetch me, I don't even know If I'm close to my room or where this is.

Maybe there's someone who can help me here, I'm just beneath a hill, it's full of gray scabs, there must be something on the other side of the bigger slice, the one opening the terrain before my figure, something is shining there, perhaps something valuable, is it a metal door? A fallen piece of the monster? I don't like taking help from others, but I must admit that being lost in the forest isn't the best situation to be in, at least some directions can be useful, maybe a way to get back to humanness, ugh, I'm not staying here any longer, my survival instincts are running wild, maybe there's people in their right now, a hut of some sorts, a social reject trying to live a survival fantasy inside a mole tunnel.
My legs feel woozy beneath me, but my soft tissue is dauntless, I listen around and manage to piece together all of those victims voices, they direct me towards the metallic, silver arch, it's a small corroded gate, enough for one person to slide in hunched up, finally something that looks like a human made it, should I open it? If there is someone on the other side, they are probably hostile, or at least not used to have many visitors, maybe they are assassins, kidnappers or there is a secret forest cult here, shit, is it here where the killer I'm looking is hiding?! If I enter this door, what the fuck I'm going to find, it can be the most beautiful cave, or a gruesome display, arms chained on each side of a mutilated corpse, animals biting and devouring the meat, ribs sticking out, with a locket nudged between the pliable layers.
The gate crunches sweetly, I've grown obsessed by the sound since I opened it, I didn't plan to stay in the cellar at first, because I didn't know if it was habitable, but trying it out thanks to necessity, it started to grow on me, a century old alcohol cellar revived, it's actively battling the hungry nature, this space is pure granite, and it seems that way before my time, they were only scary sized rock structures, all caved inside themselves, giving it a dome like shape, but someone seems to have restored it, carefully attending the entrance, just in the middle of the boulder there is the beautiful metal gate, surprisingly well-kept, cultivated by the salty environment and possibly because it doesn't come into contact with the human touch anymore, and it's good as new, it looks like someone used this place fully, its walls are reconstructed and lined with bricks, there are some abandoned wooden barrels and silver buckets. My body refuses to continue, and it plunges into the cold floor of the cave, a weird feeling is pillowing my skin, making my whole nervous system weak, and soon, sleep finally arrives next to me, carefully taking the hair away from my face and pulling my coat closer, the monster beneath the bed now cradles me to rest.

Nothing dangerous happens further, this fills me up with strange curiosity, this place is enjoyable, very simple compared to the life closer to the city, and to be very sure no one really lives here, the next morning I hid beneath a tree, closed off within a circular bundle of bushes, slicing my skin on the sharp brambles while I get into the coop, instantly feeling intoxicated by the smell of sour berries, all the way to finally see myself waiting patiently until noon, really making sure that no movement happens close to this location, the plan works out perfectly on figuring that out, everything clear, only ignoring my damn leg twitching, thanks to the nervousness I get thinking about the fact that I've just missed a whole morning off of work, hopefully no one really needs me doing all the tasks for them, those lazy assholes I know they can fucking handle it without me for a while! I'll do everything at the end of the night, there can't be that many files to review and organize.

I try to be respectful with the spot, since it seems abandoned but still pretty taken care off in recent times, and while scanning the open latch, I figure they tried to build a window setting higher than a normal placement and I devote my attention to it, naturally my steps are guiding myself towards it, this must mean something, why is it so specifically placed and cut out of the earth? It aligns with the solar and moon cycle, is it some sort of clock? I try and move into the exact position where I might catch the sun nudging itself right into that box, until my steps get abruptly interrupted, loosing control of my balance, something rolls down on my shoe, slippery and scary, goddammit, my arms impulsively rock around and stamp my hands on the rock texture of the wall in front of me, what the fuck is doing a pine cone in here? I look down, feeling like I am being watched, bathed in self consciousness because of my stupid coordination, fuck, I must be close to the forest surrounding the castle then, shit, I might be right there, It's impossible for me to have run off too far away, right? This must be the same vegetation I'm used to seeing every time when I eat outside alone close to the Dark Lake, I will follow the pines. 
The path leads me towards a lamp post, a handkerchief! My handkerchief! This one I had when escaping the mansion and probably lost on the way back, I must be close.

The object makes me reminiscent and feel a warm sense of comfort, seeing something mine and I remember I don't really have much to call home, but this might be the opportunity to get another office far away from the non-trustable people that surround me.

I'm pondering and figure that talking with Headmaster Dumbass, my stupid idiotic boss, to get me a new place is a horrid idea, so ultimately I decide to find one only by myself, my own hideout, far away from the castle.  

I go again to that place the next day, and admire the sight, I see that in the corner, the constant stream of water coming from a cracked rock, made a pool, gray and full of debris, the pond gives the temperature a tinge of cold humidity, just the perfect bundle of circumstances for delicious aged whiskey, but now it has dried up almost completely, because I have been constantly cleaning the place, since I've been consulting a library owned by an association that helps inform people and donate to preserve these sorts of places, I got instantly sold, after a couple of days testing it out and learning more about the craft.

Consulting some databases and books, the first step to take, is to set up some sort of drainage system, I carefully inspect the roofs, floors and outskirts of the place, and it does indeed have a drainage system and various water pipes, meaning someone already took care of that, it seems like it has been used for preserving goods but not only that, also it is a nice place to stay and reflect, a little dome that contains a table and chairs, now I'm doing the same with it and using it for personal time, how things end up going, I'm grateful to be within the embrace of its whispers now, but, excluding my emotions, the drainage is already done, the only thing that was left for me to do were the chipped walls, upon research I bought a special construction material to coat surfaces and make them waterproof, used specifically for cellars and other sketchy places, I remember it took me a couple of weeks, until satisfied by the result, since I tend to be quite picky around rooms, the marvelous brick interior ended up incredibly brilliant and clean, it was easier than I expected, since the cavern already has been taken care of in the past.

It's spacious enough to be in, someone must have forgotten its existence and abandoned it, never shutting this compartment down, missing the idea on filling it up with rocks or modern cement, like most other spaces beneath the earth now, but with some time and effort I've made this place my own, arranging it with some nice furniture and brought the suitcase alongside with many boxes all covered in plastic with files to review. It has become a very charming office, ignoring its cave nature, just my little place in the woods that keeps me busy without being focused on work all the time. 

The cellar, underground compartment, smallish, with the stench of damp moss, big enough to fit a couple of people, has a tiny entrance but if you wait and keep on walking a little longer, a bigger room stretches across the rocks, filled with various barrels and ancient lamps, for a long time, I've been eating here, resting my heavy legs and even dozing off, attracted by the simplicity of the underground, since young, I've been escaping with friends, climbing, exploring the crowns of trees, escalating rocks and abandoned houses, so, this passion helped me stumble across this peaceful secret cubbyhole, further nurturing my ideas to live in the forest forever in isolation.

While enjoying the confinement of my spot, a thought crosses my mind, I should have brought something to drink while revising my notes for the day and reading everything out loud, that's something that helps me tremendously to process the clues I collect, mentioning them to myself, in the cold stone walls of the cellar, where they like to bounce, walk and dance around me, reverberating towards my ears again, plethora of conversations with my own shadow, the one who falls and start swimming in the tiny lake, responding back to me from time to time. 

Since I'm a child of the darkness, the most uncomfortable and irritating experience is to be seen, not in a literal way, even if it is part of it, but to have someone steal glimpses at your humanity, like for example, one of the hardest things ever, to prepare and make up a whole speech in front of my peers and showcase it in front of them, or something like having them snoop into my lunch break, interrupting my time and gossiping, like they do with each other, they don't understand the fucking peace, of being you, alone! It's a privilege so dangerous, a double-edged weapon, but that's how I like to work, unbothered within the bounds of the decaying cellar. 

I stare at the gloomy beams, the glistening amber coming from my oil lamp, rocking against the crumbly rock enclosure, and proceed to ponder if I should continue with the suitcase investigation, I don't know if my energy is enough to continue, I'm feeling like shit today, the scent of cork and melted glue surrounds me pitifully, after much deliberation, I grab one of the lamps with dedication, the one resting above the tiny wooden desk. 

The rain outside obscures the whole marsh, the little millions of fast droplets are able to cloud and blur the healthiest pair of eyes. Weather like this can be charming, and I go outside to inspect with overjoying senses, craving for some silence, finally a little break from worrying about the suitcase and the mission. It feels mesmerizing and refreshing to be able to appreciate these conditions, I ignore the heavy trousers and focus on the sound of my whole world turning gray and feel the shiny droplets waving a curtain of knitted ice jewels in the apocalyptic coppery sky, while the lights of far away buildings and lamp posts stare at me back with those hazy clusters, speckles of fragmented lost signs, creating challenging electricity between the outpouring energy in the clouds and down here, while we foolishly try to mimic those cascades, but the reality is, here, everything is dead. 

The dirt smells addictive, pure and ozonic, dusty pools of ice slow down my step, I walk around the outskirts of my secret hideaway, the ruthless rain douses my hair and licks it slick, oh, what a wonder, to be cleaned by the power of the uncontrollable, hugged by the scattered mist, intensified by the heavy air and messed up breathing, it looks dark and almost reddish while the cold starts to curl up against my limbs, this rain is freezing, but something tells me to continue, it tugs at the bottom of my coat, tiny bugs flying around like funny fairies pull at the lapel of it, moving me into the depth of the forest.

Fucking hell, the quietness instantly explodes, and my world starts to spin. 

Fuck this shit! What the fuck is happening right now?! I can't tell what the actual shit is in front of me, I grasp for air and flinch away, almost falling down into the pond behind me, my stomach churns with shock and horror, the floor felt two times more dangerous and slippery, my figure backing out of the scene, the length of my cloak waving against the terrifying tide.

"Rosier?!!!" My mouth shouts. 

There is an extremely slow crawling figure, smashed against a couple of stones, completely flat into the muddy ground, his face hidden. 

The figure is all battered with rain, It could be anyone but something made me instantly recognize him, his signature outfits, carefully chosen attire, always very neat and elegant, with a belt strangling his hip tightly, fitted, tailored dark gray pants and lighter gray button up, his whole nice ensemble of clothing is smashed with some type of murky black substance, and he smells like gasoline.

Understanding slowly melts into my body, questioning if this is reality or just one of my nightmares, Rosier starts to whisper... Is he talking in other language? It is barely audible. Rosier is the foolish one, but I know better than to think this is one of his jokes, I'm used to seeing his noisy and fun personality take control over the whole place, exactly like a storm, but seeing him now, this ravaged, it seems impossible, he has never been this type of problematic... I can't wake him up! I'm not touching that. 

"Rosier? What the hell are you doing there? Fuck, respond piece of shit!" Upon waiting a couple of seconds and finally accepting that he isn't going to respond, I need to start doing something, fuck it, he needs help. 

I move him slightly, venturing my boot just above his shirt, this is insane, his body convulses but no coherent words yet, now I'll need to get help, fucking hell, how did he even get here? It's my secret place, I've never told him about it, haven't I? Did he really search for me somehow? Did he get lost and tried reaching me? That can't be possible, I follow up with the next plan, running against the harsh weather conditions, wondering where to go or what to do, I'm not even making sense of things anymore and don't want others to find this place, but shit, I need to help him! It's no time to be worried about this, I push him to a safer place, closely running towards the path I just passed by, essentially going back and bringing him with me, hopefully closer to the castle and farther away from this forest, Oh! I get instantly a flash of brightness and try again to find other direction, changing our route once again, leaving the thing bunched up further away from the collapsed fen. 

There's a payphone in a nearby street, inside one of the paths I take sometimes to go back to the castle, even if it's going to take some time, it's worth a shot, I try running as fast as I can without sending myself to the grave and wonder, who am I calling? It seems difficult to respond at first but... then I understood where this worry comes from. No respectable doctors are coming here for this type of emergency, just the ones who work with discarded people like us, associates who ask little questions and are able to help us in deadly, dark and abnormal situations, not at all the bystanders who adore to be bitter and fulfill the role of victim in their own play, trying to paint themselves as saints and at the same time they act offended by our presence, our liberties and decisions, to end up never fulfilling those false prophecies and refuse to extend a hand for us, unable to understand they aren't always right.

"Good evening, you are talking with the department of Serious Bites at Sain-" A slightly annoyed and certainly robotic voice responds after an electric, crispy crinkle.

"I don't have much time, please forward me to your boss, we are in a life or dead situation, he is my family doctor! I need him on the line NOW!" I demand with the voice I have still left from the shock.

A sigh comes out from the other line and cuts briskly, nothing plays while I wait, thankfully everything is happening quickly, a handful of seconds pass by, and he picks up the damn phone. 

I know there's only two people working there, and the doctor trusts this guy with his whole heart, this call is protected, my information is well-kept with him, both of us have a confidentiality agreement, and he has a very reputable position in the hospital, making it easy to have private conversations, ultimately it's clear that only my crowd has my back, but nothing is free in the world, so I return the favor with gladness, and after only two calls, we were ready to do something about the lost mess in the woods, I decide to finally pull him close into a hollow that maintains a scrap of slightly dampened floor instead of completely flooded, with some trees standing around to provide enough cover for a couple of people, the earth does feel less marshy here and Rosier is now tucked beneath one of those trees, position I found ideal for us to wait together, until they came along. Two people, the second call was way easier than the one of the doctor.

After what feels like an eternity, the Doctor steps into the forest, an intimidating halo above him, towering over the bravest of wild animals, his step alone is enough for all rodents and rabbits to escape through the drenched, long grass, he is one of the tallest people I've ever met, Hippocrates Smethwyck. Next to the shadow, a figure jumps along with gleeful supremacy, Avery, a complete killjoy that finds thrilling to turn everything into a playable game comes along, taking delight in the fun of mischief, he maniacally disrupts the stillness of the forest with hysterical rampage, his energetic hands tucked into worn out leather gloves, his boots thumping down the floor and sending shivers through the grass, his messed up hair and sleepy eyes are ready to take any opportunity to hunt any animal that wants to hurt us and turn it into carrion even if he is thin as a stick, and still, he looks rough, with some ugly scars and a heavy breathing, like he just came running all the way from the other side of the city. There's something about people who don't give a fuck, a fearless but senseless instinct to hop into danger to claw it's skin off, I take them as inspiration, it's admirable to see them coming here without any tinge of doubt, through the cries of the rain, walking in dangerous quicksand threatening to absorb them within their claws, jumping obstacles and running from the shadow lurkers, just to come here and help one of us, I need just this a professional in medicine and a fucking crazy bastard.

"We are here, assholes!" Avery shouts disorderly, going rogue, "Do we need to slice someone up?" A piece of laughter follows, it cuts off briskly "Fucking shit, what happened here?!" His empty pupils overshadow his cornea as soon as he sees Rosier laying down.

"Snape." Hippocrates salutes me and instantly kneels down to our height, a lot more trustworthy sounding than the other fucking demented.

"Hypo." I sigh with absence and briefly continue, "He is breathing, but unresponsive." My tired eyes navigate from the body towards my guests, I'm already feeling the tiredness blocking my bones from stretching up.

Hypo starts rotating Rosier's face still on the floor, a trail of blood runs down all the way from his nose to his chin and completely stains his shirt, Hypo proceeds to do some checkups, tilting his chin backwards and examining his airways, this quick protocol surprises me, a well-developed professionalism, well, I wonder if I'll need to learn this type of stuff in case another emergency happens in the near future, but I continue by distancing myself from this, believing that somehow, if I keep myself oblivious to that knowledge, nothing bad will continue to happen. To finalize the first procedure, he rolls Rosier on his side and turns his head back again.
"Help me straighten his posture from the other side." After the instruction, I quickly got to my feet and try my best to accommodate his arms forward, knotting them enough to not bother the doctor, then quickly going around and grab his shoulder blade next, to naturally clean the curve of his spine.
Avery stays silent, only Hippo broke down the heavy air again with some more instructions for him, "Bring me the warm compresses and the towels, then grab his legs and stay in that position." A rustling sound follows him, rummaging breaks around Hypos backpack, until his figure brings back several little bags for him, after the delivery he flows into the next step and lifts Barty's trembling legs, Hypo grabs the packs and rolls them into the towels, then nudges some warm pockets into his armpits and another bigger one towards his chest, "Do you know if he has any condition, high blood pressure or bleeding disorders?" He asks both of us, but is met with two dumbfounded faces, enough response for him to stop asking us more, ultimately pulling himself closer to his blank face and listening closely.

"His breathing seems to be stable, no fluids are coming out now that he is resting sideways, so there's nothing immediately blocking his airways or a life-threatening injury, the red stuff on his face is not blood, there are some patches in fact, but most of it seems like it seeped from superficial cuts and already dried up, I'm not sure what exactly is the substance, tho." His face gazes at the resting figure with a tired and depressed face, "We need to get him quickly out of here and instantly change his wet clothes." Hypo stretches looking behind him and grabs something, I am quite distracted and out of my mind, and only look back at the same time he reaches what looks like a piece of spilling material out of his bag, his contorts his arms with strange flexibility and finally pulls out a very strange looking jacket, it's made of some type of plastic or something, it squeaks.

"Avery, with a lot of care, let him go and search in the bag again, there should be some reflecting pants inside, please grab them for me, go, go!" He starts pulling the jacket on Rosier's body rapidly while waiting for the next piece of the suit, now the packaged individual looks like a spaceman plus a sausage roll. 

"Hypo? What is that? It looks insane, and expensive." I wonder, this is so fucking fascinating, I want to learn more, and now I notice how my stomach is protesting for the lack of nutrition.

"Insulation, we are building a vapor barrier right here." Even in between his concentration he did answer, that's pretty neat, even If I didn't particularly understand a single fucking word from it, but yes. "He is ready, let's get him out of here immediately, right, this is going to work like this, the van was extremely hard to bring out here, so it’s a walk, but I believe in you, it’s a manageable one, just be careful and rush.” Oh, that’s so fucking motivational.

"Come on, we can do this shit, Sev, grab him by the legs, I'll take the arms, keep an eye on that bastard, we are getting this thing out of here!" Avery encourages, cleaning his dirty face with the back of his shaky upper arm, sliding it through freckly spots thanks to the flying mud mixing in with the snowy rain, his dark auburn hair is drenched, little droplets are crying down from the longer pieces falling on his forehead, this is a complete mess.

"Avery, we can't move a whole heavy human being all the way from here towards the hospital, have you seen the weather, huh?! HAVE YOU FUCKING SEEN IT?!" I scream at him, this isn't a good solution. 

"Ha, you want to yell big boy, fine, then you come up with another solution, right, smart ass? Let's see how much of a nerd you really are, fucking moron." He responds with that dirty and sarcastic half smile and gives himself a cynical pat on the head.

"Lets see how long you can lift him for, with those noodle arms, you really look like you will wither away in a breath, go and eat some shit." I finally kinda agree, there's nothing else left to do, I can't come up with anything else.

"Shut it you two, your friend is in danger, understand that... What we are going to do is this, follow my directions, lift him up very gently, try not to slip and get him to the car, I have a lot more equipment there and the vehicle's radiator, let's go, you can do it. I’ll try to get the van closer, it looks a lot easier now and after that let me be the one who watches your steps as you do all of this." Hippocrates stares at both of us dead in the eye.

My wrists burn in pain while I grab him from his ankles and painfully walk backwards, since Avery’s lazy ass decided to ditch that job, stating that I am smarter, so it would be easier for me to walk this way instead of him, fucking asshole. If someone catches a glimpse of us, it really looks like we are doing weird shit like a burial ritual or extreme sacrifice, but what is being murdered tonight is not him but my burning fingers dealing with terrible pain, the friction of the texture of the pants makes my skin start itching, the dirt keeps getting ingrained into palm and nails, fuck, if I get cut, this shit will get infected, I can't believe I'm doing this, I really need to get back, I think they are now worms crawling into my knuckles, why they feel so weird? Bloody hell, distractions I need distractions, what other thing can I think about while doing this, fine, look at the forest, alright, it is very cold, oh my, the rain left everything looking fucking devastated, everything smells like sewers and I can’t fucking see where I’m walking to, what the actual fuck, at least the weather is an eensy bit better than before, but it has been beyond uncomfortable anyway.

Engines sound close, in fact, the rain has already started to dwindle, only a few transparent beads dare to come down and visit us, ashamed of what they have been putting us through.

"Careful, prick!" Avery shouts and starts having a blast, folding and laughing, suddenly a harsh punch takes all my air out, almost letting Rosier fall off into the sweaty ground, now what is he doing? I can't anymore with this idiot.

"I fucking h-hathate you, dickhead." I try to speak, letting the pain corrode me, stabilizing myself with the damned tree that blocks my way, strengthening my resistance again and renewing my clasping onto the ill.

"Cry then, a little joke can't stun a freak like you, don't be a baby!" He still is making fun of me, this guy doesn't let anything go. 

Avery starts whining after the incident, claiming he is already tired, I ignore it, hopeful that we are pretty close now, we probably got only like four steps away from the tree when he starts talking to me again, as fucking expected, but I can't deny my own exhaustion as well, it's starting to refuse to hold him any longer, my arms shake and I feel disgusting inside, I need a shower, we look like drowned dogs, and stench like so, I feel twinkling on every knot of my system, the mud seeps into me somehow, I try shaking it off and letting his legs go, his body slides down, now Avery being his only support, he moves like a broken puppet, one way and another, threatening to roll down and dig his face on the grass again, his legs jump into opposite directions as I let him fall, one clockwise and the other not, and with the thump his feet just did, a flow of soil dusts outwards and his shoe went flying.

"The fuck! Why you let him go without telling me!" Avery yells at me, and let's go off his hands in the same violent manner, tossing them downwards.

I really thought of going away and just leave him here at this point, and with such nice comments, the next one I've would have left stranded is the supposed loser that is here to help me, but anyway, I can't spill more energy out to respond to any tantrums.

"Are you crazy! He is in a fragile state!" Hippo runs the small stretch left between us, he quickly picked him up, ignoring our bewildered stance, and bring him to the vehicle, all of us managed to complete the walk somehow, rotating the amount of times we worked, trying to keep as many energy and warmth inside to not die on each other on the way, we don't need more sick people.  

No one expected us from the backside of the building, the rain made all people run away inside their tiny hutch and nest there, thankfully my place in the castle is well hidden enough, most of the time no one comes around here, this is an abandoned room after all. Finally, we let his very heavy body go once again for the last time, and Avery lost the grip around his arms, Rosier thumps into the clean floor, still extremely inert, he looks quite dead besides his whispers, still chanting weird and nonsensical words but less repeatedly. 

Hypo shares that he needs his own equipment from the Hospital, to inject Rosier with a saline drip but decides to sneak some from the medical wing instead, and while he took care of that, we manage to get him to rest in a warmer place, hidden in a corner, I turn on the heater to fuel him indirectly, and wrap him in dry clothing, he can clean himself further as soon as he wakes up. 

Hippo returns in a blink of an eye and fervidly patches up his wrist, "Prioritize not moving him and letting him rest, nature will do its deed, I know you both are ignorant to the fact that he might have a condition, but I may ask, has this happened before?" Hippo asks after checking his pulse again, we already took care of everything as a team and now his body lays inside a sleeping bag with multiple blankets and towels, he looks like a worm.

"No." Avery chimes in with a single word.

"Never, this is the first time we have ever seen him with any type of sickness." I sigh, with a hazy brain.

"Alright. There could have been multiple causes, let's anticipate that this is in fact the first time, because it might have reached the point that his sickness is irreversible and might lead to his death, he might have one of those frail systems that can't be a match to the power of exhaustion and the threat of hypothermia, so, you need to contact me if there's a relapse." Hippo instructs us and aims for the door, both of us keep our vote of silence, we aren't able to find any words. "With that being settled, I shall go for the night, possibly I'll be coming back tomorrow with medicine from work, you were very lucky that the Hospital was pretty calm today... we shall talk about payment another time, I wish you both good luck." He grants us his goodbye, walks insanely slow and closes the door behind him.

We look at each other, both of us left behind with our own worries, my exhaustion matching his, Avery looks as battered as me. "What a shit fest... what's happening with this loser?" He asks me with a puzzled gaze.

I flick more lights on, trying to calm myself down with mundane actions, while pondering the question, was it really Hypothermia? Fatigue? Hunger? This is extremely complicated. "Found him in the forest with all of his face eating dirt..." I respond dull, still shocked by recent events.

"Rosier has been different lately... this is... weird." Avery moves around my room, he sounds apprehended, he has never talked to me with that voice before.

"Are you well? Or do you feel sick too?" I inquire with a pinch of kindness.

"Damn you, don't be mean! I'm fine, piece of shit." He crosses his arms.

Is he alright?, damn it. "You are not well, what the fuck has happened to you." I ignore and proceed to analyze the situation, I start going closer to the subject and try to make Rosier respond, moving his tucked arms, quite like a broken doll, nothing really happens, but thankfully his chest breathes out with a controlled pulse.

Avery continues, "Don't you think he is acting strange lately? I'm not lying here, you know very well how my serious face looks... I mean, we never get involved into each other's business, but... shit is fucking weird! So frustrating, he has been playing with fire and just got burned, this shit isn't funny anymore." He rebukes and loses control of his expressions, his face looks sinister all of a sudden.

I'm reading him like a book, he does look unsettled. "Like you care about lying!" I screech, looking at Rosier then back at him, both completely destroyed, "He isn't a threat now, maybe he even got attacked by something! But you are right, he isn't in his right mind, realistically we can't do anything right now, first we need to bring Rosier back, and then we can start to question him." I try not to get frustrated and accept his pouring emotions, but this is hard enough already and seeing someone who is always happy and cheerful, just destroyed like this, is making me feel so much regret and guilt.

"He is more dangerous than ever, look at this behavior! What the fuck is this!" Avery nudges him with his leg.

"You can't talk shit about sanity, Avery, but this won't go unnoticed, don't worry about it. He has been showing some terrible signs and won't continue being my deputy if he keeps on hiding information and coming back here half dead, this can't continue happening any longer." I threaten, refusing to lose another live.

This feeling is gutting me.

"Sev, you are always being a fucking soft marshmallow defending Rosier, we need to stop him, he is harming himself!!! Can you see his fucking state?! He is a threat towards his own safety, there's no fucking way in this world he walked all the way from the city towards the forest just because he had a cold and that fucked his head up, this isn't fever dream, Rosier is voluntarily putting himself in these situations and will end up dead on a ditch, but not only that, more problems for us...! Just... Fuck him." He shares with worry turned disgust.

What is he thinking? Talking to me like that! My eyes slide sharp across my face and drag my frustrated gaze towards his disgusting face, his words made me shiver in place with fury, "Avery, you know better than to talk to me like that, no one is a saint here, fucker." I accuse him, with a threatening undertone.

He bit down onto his dry lips and sighs in trapped anger, "Whatever, It's just that, we have enough to deal with... But fine, sorry! My fucking goodness, you know what? Sorry is what I feel for you because you are a fucking coward... whatever! This is just pure bullshit." He looks down, lost in thought.

"Fuck you, Avery, get the fuck out of here." I return, cut-throat.

"Don't be so sour alright?! I know what I'm going to do, I'll accuse you with the teacher! Haha! You are the fucking teacher now!!! What a loser job Snape, but I fear I might need to stay here mate, I don't know where I'm going to sleep... You know? Is late or whatever, sorry? Real this time." Avery smiles with degeneracy, what a fucking leech, shit, but I know he is probably telling the truth, I know the night doesn't always spoil Avery with a place to stay, nor any of my friends, so I can't just throw his to the street, this guy, a true definition of an impulsive psycho, they are taking years off my life.

"Fine, but you will need to come clean then." I inquire him further.

His sharp face looks back at me shocked, "What do you mean, shithead! I'm fine, what have I done now." He spits and crosses his arms, then proceeds to break eye contact erratically, then makes himself comfortable jumping on the bed and crouching above it like a crow. "I feel amazing!" His eyes look curious and overall quite happy, but I know he has been hiding something.

"You have been hanging out with those guys again, right? I don't think they like us, they will hunt us down, I feel they might be involved in Reggie's disappearance, I have no idea what they have done, it will only end up with them backstabbing you, and they will leave you alone with the pain." I tell him worried. 

His face clouds, "Don't bring that up, never." He lies on my bed, frustrated. "You have done the same, Snape, you were friends with Lily and Sirius, and no one ever said anything about it, at least not me." His voice sounds strained now, lost and overcome by sadness.

"Do you know how it ended up?" I ask, even if I know there's no response, I'm the only one who knows it better than anyone will ever do.

"I'm sorry, Sev. I know why you talked and hanged out with Sirius before, but regarding the other situation, I have nothing else to say." He replies, suddenly very aware.

"I don't mind talking about her, I just don't want you to suffer the same way I did." I make the reasoning clear, I don't care about what happened, I've overcome it by now, but I can't see it repeat, just in front of me, I can suffer, but no one else will.

"Let's keep an eye on him for the night Sev..." Avery finishes sniffling, looking back at Rosier, touching something inside his pocket with nervousness, like scratching a tick, now realizing that subtle movement, he has actually been doing it the whole time, rolling something between his hands.

Avery starts to look for a place to crash.

"Sounds like the best idea." I sentence, still feeling remorse, I can't help them feel right, why can't I save them? I start to wonder how the night will look from now on forward.

We lift the mood with our usual jokes after that, sleeping until very late, we genuinely like spending time together besides the hard lives and exhausting situations we are meant to suffer for. 

I feel bad for both, they look very affected, Avery is always gleeful, but these disasters are never easy to go through, he has quite a short fuse if put under pressure, so we explode likewise, exactly like today, but we both ultimately reconciled during our vigil, in our own ways.

Rosier can't remember a single thing from that day, or he doesn't want to talk about it, he has been wandering around, confused, talking with himself and constantly stressed, we are letting him be for now.

I'm still not sure of why, but every time I try to confront him, he calls me crazy, then I respond back with something way worse, until one of us is tired enough to put a stop to it. This incident has been a memory that has changed the course of time, something feels off since that happened, It's making me feel even more lost than before, specially in my investigation, without any friendly support, my heart weeps tremendously in discouragement, it worries me that Rosier might be trapped within the tendrils of danger, another fallen star from our group, tangled between a spiderweb, another game with death, this time, I'm not surviving the guilt of suffering the loss of someone close to me again, I won't let this happen another time, I will stop it now, look at the atrocities straight into their faces and scream back.

I'm torturing myself thinking about how my leadership is going to work now, without his support. This title is very dear for me, I can't lose it, nor any of my members anymore.

I need to find who has been threatening our lives. 

Now, my next course of action, while waiting for one of my most valuable friends to come back of his trance, is to keep this investigation afloat, It's the only thing I have left, really, my life is so miserable, my friends are down casts, my job is disgusting, got abandoned by my closest friend ever, I've lost all the opportunities to be cherished in life, and my investigation just fell in quicksand. Our group, the one I love with my whole heart, has been in shambles. 

It seems like we have no future... Well, that would be the best outcome really, because instead, what will happen is that the future is indeed there for us, but it's abominable, we are bound to continue the ring of sacrifice, like Regulus.
Before everything came down, I wanted to get closer to him, get to know him, his family and connections, know more about this ancient surname he possessed, now the bridge that was going to forward me towards that information just blew up, only the sisters and Sirius are left, together with the suitcase.

That's the only reason we needed Regulus? To make him work for us... To get connections? Responses? I don't really know. 

But I still have this desire to infiltrate Sirius and his group of repulsive friends, this need has always been festering in me and Regulus could have been the key to open that door, I just want to see them fall to their demise, they deserve the horrible fates of my own adopted kinship, not my friends, they don't deserve this, they are the ones who need to suffer, as much as we do! It's not fair, it will never be fair, Why us? And not them? Or any other fucking people. 

Now, it's my mission to destroy them, annihilate those freaks, one by one. But the thing is, how to trick Sirius into believing in me? I can't talk directly with him or through any of his family members anymore, there's no one left able to affix with Sirius. 

I look at the sky for answers, full-blown starry midnight, while looking through the window of my room, Sirius means that, after all, maybe it will inspire me, the night is so... resplendent.

I curl up into myself between my cloudy sheets, it gets very cold here, now my eyes stare at the moon, it's talking alone with its milky murmurs, crevices tracing enigma on it's surface, breathing stories and riddles, what would have occurred to all of us, if the Apollo Moon landing never happened? I'm sure we would find any type of way to get there, anything to feed our insatiable hunger for knowledge and exploration, we have always been connected to our firmament, but in this case, this won't work, this is stupid, the moon is a name that burns in complete opposition of the one person I'm hunting.

Sirius... Where were you? Why didn't you do anything and abandoned him? What a fucking pity you are. 

I'm wondering why he missed the party, the one I sneaked in, at the Noble House of Black, he is always escaping, always running, should I question him about the suitcase? I wonder if he knows it is now in my possession. 

I still do respect him just because one thing only, even if I hate him with every piece of my fucking being, It takes guts to have kept his ground all of those years ago all the way until now, fighting for himself with unsheathed claws inside that mad house, soil the reputation of greater figures, attacking since he was young... Sirius has fucking faced his people without a drop of fear and ripped his family apart, it's admirable.

The only other people who still carry the blood, at least the ones closer to my generation, are the sisters, Andromeda, Bellatrix and Narcissa. Do they have the keys for the suitcase? It's hopeful thinking, the easiest way to open it would be just start jamming a screwdriver onto the clasps, but I'm fearful to destroy its history or mess up the contents, it's still scary to think what I'm going to find, my mind will break, I'm so sure about it. 

Maybe Andromeda was at the party that night, at least Narcissa was, they have similar voices, it confuses me, I wish that they would have invited me to the event, or any other one, even if it's just one time, to source out more information about their upcoming schemes and who is really present there, I can't even wrap my head around how much money they are playing with during every reunion, or matter of fact, every day, even if someone sounded like Andromeda, she probably wasn't, it would be a terrifying move from her part, after marrying Edward and turning her back on them, I'm sure she isn't welcome anymore, and her presence there means she still keeps some skeletons hidden in her closet, that sugar coated, lady of opulence, sinister woman who chose the simple life developing in the suburbs, rather than being cradled by the sweet arms of abundance and revenge.

The Andromeda Galaxy is the closest to the Milky Way, you can see it in moonless nights. It's mass of gravitational bond finds itself in the same order as the one in the Milky Way, they are expected to collide someday. 

I've been witness of horrible crimes being practiced during full moons, there's no surprise the day turns bad while the moon hangs high, is she enemies with all of those stars? This is the moon I'm waiting for, even if it is bitten in half, today the fear ends.  

After a while, turning around and sleeping with difficulty, time starts to feel bendable, my mind slowly coming back from the slumber of recent occurrences, not comprehending what my purpose of being here is, everything will inevitably end one day, some sadness tugs at my stomach, I get up from my bed, walking shakily at first, while my blood starts to fill my brain again with energy surges, then the eyesight I own adapts quickly after, very well-trained in the dark, and it directs me towards a corner of my room, I start bending my knees with swiftness, they slightly crack on me, but I ignore the sudden bone rustling, I move slowly like a reptile, even dead I would be able to navigate this room. 

My oddly shaped fingers pull outwards, reaching for the spongy suitcase like grabbing a present, why can't I leave my body now? Are we humans or animals? Something similar to human pain is the one surrounding my fingers, using the skinniest part of them to act as claws, I grip the tag who is nudged in that shell, the pearl in between the hungry jaws of a mother and then start briskly pulling it out, to see his name, it's time to open this.

To my bewilderment, the tag tells something completely different than I first believed, it reads the capital letters FIANNA.

Regulus initials aren't on this suitcase... Nor Andromeda's or Narcissa's, not even their family name... I'm going mad, yes, this is my last day on this earth.

After all this fucking work, sneaking into that horrible place, having all of these nightmares, being scared and stripped off my flesh in pure terror just by imagining how the experience would be to open this! And it isn't even from Regulus... I feel my head naturally loosing its composure, banging harshly on the wall, the moment it hit I don't feel anything, but after a minute something starts developing, a burning sensation and a stinging patch starts to spread around my cranium, until, I go limp in exhaustion, liberating my body and allowing it to process the pain of this new-found information... how could this escape from me.

My eyes flutter open with a surge of stinging pain, welcomed by the bright sunshine seeping through my window, the warm temperature also batters my senses awake, the burn enveloping my skin leaves a sticky residue, the dust making my nose water. Something is knocking on the heavy wooden door, making me feel irritated, how did I end up knotted here? The worst part is that it seems I slept for quite a long time sprawled uncomfortably on the floor. 

"Give me a minute." I growl while unfurling my body, after noticing my pajamas sticking to my body disgustingly, I'm quick with my legs and go to the bathroom in a rush, cupping water and pitifully spraying my face and neck, while wishing my body isn't smelling like fucking shit, I put on my usual waist length black cloak and white button up. Shit, I need to comb my hair! My brush wants to escape my enclosure, slippery in my hands, but with a surge of anger I grab it and slick everything back quickly, going back to the intense knock on my door, it might be the doctor with news about Rosier.

Upon opening, there's an unknown man waiting there, one that looks intensely frail, yes that's a crazy description, but he looks just so fragile, his skin is made out of paper, his hair strands emulate cotton candy strings, silver threads that are capable of being soluble upon the slightest contact with water, all of it painfully swept to the side and calling out for help. He stretches a hand in my direction, my mind instantly starts thinking of an outcome, possibly after accepting his salutation, his hand will grasp so intensely into mine, it will start begging to go away from his body and pull clean out of his arm socket, everything will get covered in blood and the man will start screaming in pain because his arm just fell off.

Pulling thought my wicked thoughts, I ultimately stretch his hand, his energetic voice echoes through the stone dome and lifts my energy in a strange way. "Good morning Mr. Snape, it's a delight to meet you, first, I'll introduce myself, I'm William Twycross, I'm conducting a routine inspection and I need to be sure that this institution is keeping close vigil to its sanitary and structural duties. They told me that there is an empty storage facility that has been allegedly repurposed, and now you live here, so I got redirected to this exact location, and I'm afraid that I have further important matters to canvass, and it would be splendid if we have the opportunity to discuss this matters together, just the both of us." He opens his palms on either side of him with a sickening gummy voice, this fucking man uses copious amounts of hand movements and I notice his smiles are awkwardly long.

His gaze starts to navigate my makeshift room, scrutinizing every single corner of this fucking old cleaning dumpster, William starts showing immediate disgust upon laying eyes on it, he can't control his expressions it seems. 

"Wish you understand, Mr. Twycross, we have tight space around the institution, we prioritize learning spaces above anything else. But, alas, It's a pleasure for me as well to be in your presence, and it would be wonderful to take you around the castle grounds, there should be a very refined place waiting for us in proximity of our splendid library." I finally offer, sugar covering my own speech.

"In propinquity of a library? That's right up my path!" He grabs the lapels of his double-breasted jacket and pulls them close to his chest, starting to move away from here, as soon as possible.

I step out after him and the heavy door thumps behind me in rejection, sad for being so harshly judged, and the man starts walking towards the stairs he came from, the ones from the highest tower we have, all things considered, he might just fall and die here, making us responsible for even more things than we are dealing with already, yet, he finally makes it to the main floor in one piece, we both left behind said tower, passing through the corridor that connects my vault with the outside, using the exit that flows directly into the gardens, my favorite one, this may impress him. But, if we want to reach the library, I take him on the opposite direction from the green zones after stealing a slight glimpse at it, and he ultimately follows suit, while we politely exchange different remarks, mostly I'm trying to come up with some history facts about the place, most of them just a little overdrawn, to try and fill his mind with even more positive input.

Somehow, between all the confusion, while reaching the library's passageway, I overhear a conversation, right outside the door we are trying to reach. 

"She went completely mad and destroyed all the glass sculptures we had! She disfigured their face! We lost insane amounts of money." That voice is in call for a cough drop, one of the best out of the bad hive of terrible colleagues, Sybill. 

She is a mix of eccentricity and tea time, I really can't find any other words to describe her better, she always offers everyone those weird baked goods she keeps trying to make, with a side of this strange sparkly tea, I always refuse, who knows what that stuff is made out of! The drink pops sparkly bubbles and makes fizzy sounds, I'll pass on that mixture. Well, it seems that it doesn't bother her friend, since half-eaten plates are watching us from one of the libraries tables.

"How are you going to remunerate everything? You have a big loan to pay! Lady, you are the mad one!" The other one I recognize too, my colleague Charity Burbage, Professor of Muggle studies, woman that has impressed me with her fine intellect and extremely annoying kindness. 

This teaching position has been met with judgmental eyes, even worse when they see that young people are the ones following this path, like me, but in comparison, Charity is very accepting towards everyone and specifically regarding this issue I have with work, exactly like Lily was, I can wholeheartedly say all of them have never once, judged me for the art I want to devote myself to, so they sit lower in the scale of overall disgust I get from people and since our jobs schedules match from time to time, it feels good to discuss with them about important shit like the boundaries of teaching, the importance of the art behind the matter and how it goes hand in hand with its own philosophy, subject all of us enjoy and have interest in, we are used to discussing everything deliberately, without feeling arbitrated in the matter. I'll need to talk with them, if something happens to me, they will know beforehand and hopefully have my back. 

I apologize to Mr. Twycross upon entering the library and forward myself to the two unsuspecting people, just throwing a sentence to them and running back quickly to the heavily breathing problem waiting for me, distracted by the many books we offer.

Quickly interrupt them, flicking my half-length cloak to break their conversation. "Greetings... Well, it seems like someone called the fucking inspectors on us, they just threw that disgusting, snobbish guy into my place without any notice and left me to deal with it, so if something happens, hide everything that might seem a hazard and don't let anyone run around the corridors, he is trying to do the impossible to find a reason to accuse us, and take away my place." My words spill with impulse.

"Oh, mate! You look like a zombie! Fucking hell, fine, don't worry about it, it's their job after all, you know? They need something to complain about, we got you, Snape." Charity always has her usual humor up high, Sybill manifests a positive reaction as well, moving her head and pointing out her chin with agreement.

I just thank them with a brief nod and now with my pretext ready, I center my attention towards my guest yet another time, offering him to be his guide, finally reaching the high arches at the end of the structure, those who lead into the staff room.

This is already a lot better ventilated, the tall shiny windows give the area much life, it provides dewy, fern colored light, while the trees outside chant greetings with their rustling leafs, bumbling against each other like harp strings, creating complex symphonies, contrasting with the dark syrupy brown stained crystals, with that pure and sweet air that smells like recently sprouted blossoms mixed with the rich paper of the old books and a fairly faint scent of some sort of buttery breakfast treat, probably from someone working early around these bounds, finishing everything with the pungent tinge of varnish, thanks to the shiny wood bookcases. Around us, multiple bundles of files are resting in the back of the elbow room, the sand colored walls welcome us with multiple chalkboards hanging around, filled with sappy messages of fake encouragement and old advertisements to promote reading. I invite the gentleman to take a seat in a nice honeydew colored wooden desk, above it there's some scattered pins and a block of sticky notes, with a simple green and gold office lamp standing next to the supplies.

"This has been a charming experience Mr. Snape, finally we reached our destination right? How about we start talking about business." The man offers upon sitting, closing his hands in a tent and placing them on top of the desk, almost knocking the lamp down.

"That's perfect for me, now, is it my responsibility that you are visiting? Please be more specific of the purpose of this interview, what exactly brings you here?" I encourage cut and dry.

"As I said before, I am Mr. Twycross, and I'm here on behalf of the Ministry..." He starts sharing politely.

My fucking face collapses, I try my best to hide my emotions, but goddamn, when I heard that last word, my spine starts to shake impulsively, I don't like them, these people are not in their right minds, offending their own legitimacy by diverging from the principles and commandments they have build by themselves, an organization of employees that have been hunting down my loop of friends, actively working together to draw and depict false records upon us, my friends are being treated like useless prey. That's their game plan and for such a long time as well, I've already grown exhausted, little by little they pissed me off until the detestation has filled my lungs with bile, awfully harrowing.

Hiding any further emotion, I proceed to present myself in an educated manner. "That's in order... Enough nattering, you might already know me, since you have contacted me personally, you can continue addressing me as Mr. Snape, thank you so much for the courtesy, I'm preparing to be a Professor in this Institution." I explain to this... guy.

"I ascertained some information about you, kind sir. Now, there's this state of affairs we need to discuss and..." He suddenly cuts his words short and springs up like a machine and quickly grabs me by the coat! What is this fucker doing?! This polite deep shit! My anger bubbles out, and I push him towards his seat in a surge of bloodshot. 

"What's wrong with you?!" He lunges at me again, pushing my words out like an airbag, now we are both standing up, and he tosses me closer to his face.

"You are in big trouble! Snape! You must watch your fucking back or else!... I'll come for you, for your position as teacher and everything else! I'll send you to the hellhole, and you will never see the light of day, exactly as that vile brute, Barty Crouch! Get the fuck out of our way!" William spits, his face vexing, contorting into millions of different expressions.

This fucking scumbag, what did he just say? He will die, I'm going to kill him, I'm fucking killing this piece of trash.

Grabbing him by his own collar this time I try pushing him far away from me, losing some of my own balance, and while I stumble briefly on my feet, he tries very embarrassingly to slap my face, but fails terribly and doesn't even touch me, I shove his arm and twist it away, I stare at him while at it, he looks like a hamster with tiny arms, we are now both struggling with a shaky posture, but then my humor gets a little funky, thinking about how he looks like a complete loser, a silly looking egg, trying to hopelessly move those itsy-bitsy paws, and after that distracting but amazing thought my first instinct is to grab the lamp from the desk in a blink, I stop feeling anything, I'm completely numb as my arm swings into his fucking head with the base of the lamp, making a thump upon contact, his papery skin mushes together into a pulp, and finally he lets go off me.

With my remaining adrenaline and heavy breathing, the second lunge hits his ugly nose, making a satisfying sound, like when you grab the tendon hanging off a piece of meaty bone floating on a soup and try snapping it with your fingers, hollow and sweet, his grubby hands reaching towards his face as he whines, it seems like I drew blood.
The lamp falls from my hands with absence, I'm satisfied enough now, seeing him in pain is so rewarding, I limit myself to stare, the glass shade brakes beneath my dress shoes, shattering into a million droplets of emerald rain.
"Don't even try and do that again, I'm going to kill you, I'm fucking taking your life away! And after that I'll kill that fucker you have been taking care off, you know what coward I'm talking about! I'll torture you until your sanity is broken, and until you willingly bring me my second victim, I want to see his father... Cut off every single one of his fingers until he accepts what he did, I'll kill him eventually too, when I'm ready torturing that piece of shit! Then, I'll make sure to dig something big enough to throw both of you together like garbage, that way even in the afterlife you will remember what both of you did." I spit with burning rage, my face shows no emotion other than a blank stare and a satiated groan.

He limits himself to stare at me and murmur, "We are already on your tail, Severus, watch your back, we aren't scared." William growls and quickly starts composing himself, retrieving a personal towel from his jacket and starting to clean up his nose, his fucking blood smells insane, the room fills with the scent of corroding metal, sour notes mixed with his cheap amber perfume. 

This is suffocating me, seeing him like a disgusting piece of bleeding meat, I decide to fucking grab him by the collar a second time, the same way he dared to do to me. I buff in his face with my burning breath and push him into all directions, his head moving glutinously, to finally pull him one last time to face me, "You and that bastard will look so good when I carve your faces out with my knife, don't ever threaten me or my friends ever again, during your pathetic and useless life! Let him in fucking peace, disgusting asshole." Now I let him go for the last time, pushing him towards a wall far away from me, with that last warning for him to remember, he stumbles and reaches for it with both of his hands to not fall, finally resting his head behind it to let his nose run, it's time for me to get the fuck out of here. 

Before fleeting, I catch a glimpse of someone eating at the teacher's lunchroom next to the room I just left behind, I gingerly speak with the librarian, "Good evening, it seems that Mr. Twycross just had a little accident with his blood sugar, and it resulted in a nose bleed, he even knocked down a lamp, it would be very kind of you to fetch Madam Pomfrey, thank you so much in advance." I quickly move my words out, to continue my way without any more suspicion.

I get confused, all my emotions accumulate into a screaming ball of grease, after draining all my energy onto that last interaction with the librarian, I don't know where to go now, I ponder about going back to my broom closet or perhaps go outside, but I don't really like public spaces, people are yucky, and this guy may threaten me further if he knows I'm still roaming around here, even if I know this, I can't help myself but wander around the library aimlessly, this has been my safe place for a long time, I'm not surprised I still want to linger here, and the library is big enough for me to escape through the fractures of the wooden monsters and still be miles away from the disarray I just left behind.

An idea crosses my mind, I feel instantly relieved and start walking softly, whispering to the death to protect my body from evil, the sun is already drowning, this will calm me down, give me the sufficient strength to fight the mortal pain.

The restricted section of the library, I know no one will find me here, not even Percival or Niamh, these bodies have been given a proper rest, they are satisfied to be here and that makes them non-dangerous, it's their place, and I respect it as such, they have always been very welcoming of me.

Ancient stained-glass cathedral style windows shine a blueish deathly beam, it's so hollow feeling, like I just died and my soul transcended into the infinite waters where you swim waiting for your judgment day, float until someone decides if you are worth it enough to pass to the other side and be greeted by Hades.

I see my cubbyhole, a desk with a simple wooden chair, shoved beneath the great crystals, it looks haunting with the only light source being a couple cottage, table lamps with an elegant and warm flower design, casting shadows only around the study place, all of it sits beneath the stained-glass art, the little stained humans trying to break free of their crystal imprisonment, they lay watery on the desk, while the noise is hauntingly sweet, only my heavy steps on the hard floor, an ominous silence grips my throat, but afterwards there's always this buzzing noise after the initial tranquil moment, that's the faint cold air wrapping around the metal door all the way to my body, I grab my books, and can hear every single thing I do, conscious of my own breathing and the pages flipping on my fingers, trying to have decorum and not interrupt the terrible ambience, but it still does enrage the spirits trapped in the paper, my book and slow human movements make the library crunch and sigh back, I feel danger, I look back at my book with some sort of despair mixed with understanding, you are doing this to me fucking book, right, is it you? Why do I feel scared? This constant stage of alert engulfs me like the shiny mist that evaporates every time a human dares to rustle the piles of clinging dust.

In the center there is this beautiful old mystery, the Terrestrial Globe, it shines wickedly, eating the silver liquid that the clouds are producing while being this shade of blueberry blue, the only thing threading more light upon it, is the scarce and thin voice of a half melted wax lantern, both of us barely making sense of the deep of noon, this libraries section is quite surprised by my sudden presence.

My stomach feels revolted, something weird interrupts my threatened frame, a machine is gurgling, a sudden beep sparks like flame and then a long, devious scratch follows up, then I hear paper being eaten up by a machine, it's a very monotone sound, one stretch after the other, I realize what it is now, someone is sending me a message, through the fax machine.

I stare at it from my seat, it's relatively next to me, all the way on the end of the hallway I am in, the sudden sentient machine makes me crawl and hiss in abhorrence, I feel true horror, I didn't touch it, it's acting by itself.

The abominable paper sheet lets go off its creator, floating like a feather towards the icy floor, it's finished printing. Should I check it? Who is connected to this machine? I thought I was the only one who used it, to receive secret information of people who work with smuggled books and purchase from them.

After that feverish thought I decide to ditch the fear and grab it, a single paragraph document? The glossy finish made me less repellent of the idea of having it in my hands, I instantly start to analyze the signature, it looks soft and velvety at first, when you first gaze upon the neat cursive, but as soon as I start reading it, the sharp edges turn deadly, cutting through the paper like a knife made out of silk, the one who wrote this is used to sign many important documents.

"To the Half Blood Prince: Greetings, my favorite Slytherin of all history, this is a brief piece of information I anticipate you totally agree granting enough importance to, it's regarding a consequential situation about the HSW&W, as stated, the institution you now work in has been diligently and internally reviewed, affecting many parties, this process has been misused, and the final objective warped towards personal desired results, the consequences have been fatal, specially for individuals who have never been involved in the incident, and as for today, I have a team of secretaries as witnesses for my case and are now availing the process of me writing this message. I will help you go through this process by offering you my services, it will clean up any misunderstandings reported against your situation. I will explain why this has resonated with me, someone has been stalking my family and friends, I am scared, and I know the individual is going to be at your doorstep not far from now, and what bothers me the most is that they are coming for my close ally and personal friend mister Crabbe, I won't let this happen and let this terror consume me, let's unify our strengths, contact me back. Rabastan Lestrange."

Rabastan, oh yes, that mangy animal, what is he pretending to do? Come in contact with my forces? I think he just forgot that every time someone would direct a single word to him, he would bunch up in fear and tremble as soon as his words refuse to come out, he has always tried to fit into our group, what a kind soul, bless him, haha! Oh well, this scaredy-cat makes my curiosity tingle, I guess I've gathered some fans.

Why does he have this contact on the restricted section on the library? And, most importantly, why did he know that William Twycross was coming today? He got right the exact time of the day as well... At all events, I go and answer the call.

I need to escape to the cellar as quick as possible, my friends ought to know what has been happening, I can't let this befall, this needs to end now.

While turning streets and finding the path that opens up towards the forest, I desire that the letter I forwarded to Rabastan ends up in good hands, I've never particularly relished the Lestrange's, and their malignity, but now this isn't my problem to keep, I've already done my part, now it's left of him to respond and accept.

The trees seem to tower higher upon me, they look taller than usual, everything blurs into a green mass, shit, I can't get lost, what the fuck is wrong with me?! I can't believe I've already forgotten the way! No one will care if I die right now in the woods, this can't be happening to me. Something about this whole day feels extremely treacherous, I hate fucking unpredictable shit, I can't believe we are still unsafe, how to solve this, how I'm going to do this.

A patch of marsh opens up before me, I feel observed, I'm in the middle of this clear circle, the sun burning me with laughter, seeing me desperate, with only insects being the abundant species, swarms of them flying around my confused and knotted eyebrows, my body makes a dry stop but then quickly starts turning around in a circle, my head lifts and looks into the above, first to the left then to the right, going back in a full circle again. I'm so scared, the light is shining on me, everything looks the same, why did my convoluted mind decide to pick such a complicated place to store my belongings in? The world wants to destroy me, I scream, my own voice sounds unknown, the birds fly from the nearby trees by the sudden shake, my frustration grasping my lungs, I need to get the hell out of here, my soul yells in anger, calling for someone, yet, silence responds.

I walk during what feels like an eternity, looking for the trees I've marked and the usual species that blossom around my cave office, sniffling for a light in my sight, maybe a lantern I left burning or a ray of sunshine breaking through the metal gates.

Letting my head hang loose downwards, slowly my emotions regulate again, it's time to focus, my next step is following the direction of the trees were the birds flew from, they are the ones who probably know where the north is, or at least they must follow the remaining sunlight, I will find the deserted path eventually... my body starts to relax, and my surroundings became more familiar with each step, the species of bushes start to change, and quickly I recognize with a lot more composure, all the weeds who encircle the forgotten passage, those plants turn into pebbles, while those morph into broken concrete, this used to be a tiny street who connected this old cellar, and it's possible surrounding buildings with the outside world, while the castle is well far away, standing on it's left side, but I'm sure no one has ever stumbled upon this place, just me. I find the shoe, oh yes! The shoe left behind by Rosier the day he disappeared, I'm almost there then, it must be north from this part, I decide to let it hanging from an oak, signifying the entrance towards this kingdom.

Since it's too far away for the institution, they haven't taken interest in this abandoned and vast forest terrain, that makes it concealed enough even for me, because I still managed to get lost, but finally it seems like the place is granting me admission, there's a phone booth barely hanging to an electricity pole on the track parallel to the cellar, steps away from the new entrance, the one I used to call the Doctor and Avery, no one will know about this call if I do it from here, I'm fed up and this is my fucking limit, now everyone is going to know about this cellar.

My ring needs a place to reunite, to plan alongside each other the downfall of our generation, take care of unfinished business, nothing like what we have been through will ever happen again, we never lose, at least, not on my fucking watch.

I need the deranged ones, the people who attack before the other does, lion muzzles that don't know why they do onslaught first instead of talk, we need to hunt this sick bastards down, they want to see us suffer, we will chew them down like repulsive remains, we always do, the world needs to start preparing, we are us, we are here. 

The chorus of voices echo through the sky like the cry of a mutilated archer, one that's giving its honor to the heavens, their chest full of sharp arrows slandering their bodies, every drop of resistance exuding devotion, how costly ego can be.

Bring the animal out! Get him out of the cage! Is this the Roman Colosseum? Everyone cheers for the slaughter.

I let all of those fearless creatures escape their prisons, I call out to them and one by one they start to approach the meeting point with the simple directions, I ponder how the reunion is looking so far, my skin is shivering in anticipation and fury, a mere handful of people show up, that's why they take us for granted, right? There's no strength in numbers anyway, that's just stupid and performative bullshit, individually we are the massacre, that's why it works, all of us do a part, and we are going to prove everyone wrong even if it's only us, we are going to attack the ones who doubt us when they least expect it, wounded dogs can still bite. Rosier, Igor and Avery are the only ones who show up at the agreed location, that's fine by me, I need nobody else.

"What the hell is this place, Severus? It smells like shit." Igor rebukes with his usual sweet comments, rattling with his millions of pins and keyholders from his punk clothing, while I direct all of them through the slim walls, tangy eucalyptus seeping from the outside, dewy moss trickling down the humid rocks, accepting the new guests into the confinement of its tendrils.

"It's an old alcohol cellar, we need a peaceful place to plan out the revolt." I try to reason with Igor.

The hall opens in the middle, the brick lined dome offers good shelter and a comforting sense within a seemingly dark trap, the sweetish smell of honeyed raisins and dusty barrels gains overall control, I try to form a circle, with my usual folding chair at the highest point, then I push some barrels around it, those who are not stacked above each other, finding only two proper for sitting. 

One of the barrels I pull out is next to Rosier, he peacefully occupies it while my eyes whirl onto the right quickly, a sudden flash passes by, a running Igor pushes Avery forcefully out of the way, punching the air out of him, taking the only seat left before he could reach for it, leaving no other option for him than to stay on the floor, elevated by a small pile of loose bricks.

"Shit bag! Move the fuck away!" Igor sneers, making himself comfortable.

"Asshole, wait until you sink into that barrel." Avery complains with a sigh, sitting with difficulty and kicking the barrel multiple times with a hunched up leg from down there, he looks so dumb.

After the kicks, Igor's seat tumbles softly, that made him pull his hand-over Avery's head, peacefully placing it with care at first glance, "Don't worry, you will be alright, it's a seat proper for a loser!" His grip turns violent all of a sudden, grabbing his hair with intense force and pushing him away, making his head fly to the side like a bubble head.

"Fucking prat! Everything alright with you? Wait until I can stab your eyes out their sockets with my damn fingernails, idiot!" Avery complaints from his stupid small seat. 

Igor responds showcasing his middle finger, how immature they can be! These guys are killing me, "Shut the fuck up you lot, why did I even call all of you in the first place." I shout.

They look at each other with disgust, but listen to my words, yet afterwards, it seems that Igor is incapable to ever stay still, fucking hell, he never shuts in his whole life, I'll need to padlock his running mouth, he annoys me by continuing the conversation after the brief pause, analyzing me and opening debate once again. "Alright... fuck you Avery, I mean, Ugh, Sev? Are you good, are those bruises? Fuck, I didn't even notice." His face slowly decreases in amusement and slowly turns serious.

"Everything is fine, but that's why I reunited all of you today, something very unsettling has happened and all of you deserve to know it." I comment with a determined gaze.

"Are you taking a piss right now?! Who did this shit and what happened to you?! It left you looking like a trash bag! One of those green ones people use to throw food away, wasteful motherfuckers." Igor responds back, Avery agreeing. 

Rosier hasn't said a single word, he is just staring at us from his barrel, everyone maintains that same silence for a minute, they look at me with purposefulness and tinges of curiosity.

I start with a lot of seriousness, "Listen to me very closely... Today someone came to my work from part of the Ministry, they are specifically targeting me, and I'm sure they will start to catch every single one of us like mice, eventually I believe it will happen, it has been a whole ass situation, he wanted to harm me, and I'm sure they want to kill us!..." Some offended gasps echo through the room, but I continue, "Then he proceeded to explain how we are going to get canned in, exactly like... someone, he even mentioned him by name! You must know who I'm referencing by now, well, I figured we need to put a stop to those bastards, prove them fucking wrong, I mean, who they think they are, trying to mess with us! And you must know, I have a perfect plan for that." I look into everyone's eyes for a split second, showing my will power, the room turns silent, doom is awaiting, the walls of the cellar start to open, a zipper filled with teeth instead of metal, we need to bite back now.

"We are taking Barty out of there, this is nonnegotiable, it's a fucking demand." I shout and conclude, slamming my hand down onto the barrel next to me, I glance at every single one of my guests a second time, they tense up upon my announcement, looking haunting, gazing back at me power hungry, ready to kill first. Rosier, as expected, he is the only one who looks disoriented and lost, like the statement just flew above his head.

"The baddest motherfucker around these streets will be on your team, I'm in!" Igor laughs but then proceeds to warn us, "But! I don't know how far I'm going to go, there are many things I need to do, you know, I'm a busy business manager, but count on my power, we have been waiting long enough, we have always wanted him back and now that this happened to you, let it be fucking now... Come on motherfuckers let's destroy their asses!" He teases with a sly face and crossing his legs gleeful. 
"Fuck yes! Brother, Igor, I think you are dumb or something, the fuck are you are saying, you own nothing, your life is miserable." Avery laughs harder at him. "I'm also in, morons! Unlike this loser, I do have a life, but I know how to control it, so I'll be there." He hisses.

Igor springs up his chair, "Fucker! My life is great for your information! Your fucking face is the miserable one, get it changed mate, you look like trash!" He jokes but Avery grabs him by the leg, making him almost fall and stopping him from moving all together, pulling his leg downwards and sneering like an animal, screaming very loudly. "SAY IT AGAIN! COME ON, jerk! Apologize!" He shouts with energy.

"WHAT!? Stop it! Lose my leg, wanker!!!" Igor protests, grabbing his thigh and trying to wiggle free.

"Come on, break it up, don't be such bleeders! We will plan something that accommodates our schedules, fine?!" I can't hold onto my seriousness any longer and I laugh at them, they look incredibly foolish.

Until now, time passes insanely quickly, and we manage to forget Rosier, he never said a single word during the whole interaction, and I'm sure he hasn't moved a single muscle either, and while those two try to sneer out an agreement, I decide to approach him, I am a good leader.

"Rosier, are you well? Injured?" I doubtfully approach.

"I'm fairly good." Rosier sighs, drained.

"What do you think about the plan? Are you fit enough? You can bail out if you like." I offer.

"Thank you, Severus, If we don't have a plan yet, I'll go now, contact me tomorrow when all of you are ready setting everything up, have a good night everyone." Rosier dismisses himself with a better tone but maintaining the absence. 

I stare at him going out, leaving me with another empty chair.

"Have a good one, but, please, count on us, Rosier." I address, with great concern, hopeful he will indeed ask for help when he needs to, maybe saying it like this, will make him realize that we are here for him.

When the metal gate screeches shut, my heart spikes with it, hell, I need to go back to the only scraps I have left! This is getting out of my hands, I proceed to look back at the only two people here, they finally stop brawling.

"You see what you did, happy now?" I discourage them.

"Not my fault!" Igor starts lamenting.

"Enough now, we are obliged to plan something." The problem concludes while moving my seat towards my working space, I start tapping the desk, everyone is sitting down again with muffled complains. "Who should be the responsible to sneak him out, and who will wait for him here? Let me see, Igor, since your agenda seems to be extremely busy and aligned with something exactly at the same fucking time I need you, fuck you by the way, then you should be the one to catch him after he runs away, preparing everything for his stay here. We can bring him some survival items, we will provide him food and shelter, we let him live inside the cellar until it's safe for him to go out again, we are all strong enough to fuck people up if they try and get him locked up a second time or threaten us in the process." I blurt out, this is going to be a difficult operation to solve.

"Have you talked with anyone else yet? Since fucking Rosier is gone... Maybe someone who works inside the slammer? We need to have a contact somewhere, because how are we going to get in?!" Avery spits out neurotically with increasing determination, now handling it with his analytical side, always excited about a plan.

"I am trying to plan something with Rabastan, he has contacted me, and we are going to pull some strings. Rabastan has been acting very different lately, but he is the only one who knows people on the inside..." I wonder and decide to open up to my most intimate friends and group mates, "I don't know what Rabastan has between his hands, but it doesn't seem to be something good, he has been distancing himself from us and now suddenly decides to reappear, please, let's keep an eye on him, this doesn't feel right... Maybe one of you can convince him to spill out some information with the remaining ties we have left with him, let's ask about what's happening on the prison and figure out where Barty is being held, I'm sure he knows where all of them are, we need his intel." Finally, I sigh, we need Rabastan even if we don't want to.

"I can maybe get in contact with him, but I can't promise much, he is a fucking disgusting shithead and said he is busy doing some money moves or some bullshit, that's why he stopped talking to us nowadays and will throw hands at whatever I fucking say, that man's insane." Igor jabs, scratching his nose and pulling on his spiky hair.

"You are always on that fucking cafeteria you both like, you will bump into him eventually, there's people locked up that he needs out as well, we have a conflict of interest here, offer him a deal he can't resist." I try to push. He sighs in return, thinking about it.

Avery interrupts the conversation with the same wicked demeanor, "Now that Rosier is lost, it leaves me thinking about all the things that have happened, I'm quite angry... The only thing that is bothering me now is that we are fewer people! Hippo is the only one who comes to mind, maybe he can help to get Rosier's humor back... we are only three left, I don't know how the plan will work like this, you are all cowards, we won't be able to take down anybody with you guys." Avery can't contain a faint mad giggle.

"Cowards? Look at my scar here on top of my hand! Mate it was rad! I got it while destroying a guitar, it is a crazy story, let me tell you that much!" Igor looks proudly at his hands, mushed together by the instrument and who knows what else.

These guys are killing me someday, I start massaging my temples and letting the weight of my head drop towards the desk, caught only by my cupped arms, while resting, ideas start to float around me, leaving me speechless for a second. I must try and gather all the information we need intensely fast, sort it out and purify it to it's the most solid state, we can't leave any loose ends, this is an infinite loop, full of unanswered questions and roads without exits, I need so much help with this monster of a project, is this play even worth it? It's taking years off of me.

At least they aren't distracted anymore, now we are talking and putting some effort into it, everyone tapped into their cynical moods, trying to do the impossible to succeed, with that shared psychopathic amenity growing around us, a little flame sparks up in my mind, like a forgotten soul trying to reach my ears, that's it, I have a good idea, my head springs up like a meerkat, ready for this.

"We need to harm Barty, do something to injure him... It's insane, I know! Keep up with me alright, we get Hippo, like we have done before for our injuries, then he can take Barty under his wing, keep him at St. Mungos until we manage to trespass somehow and sneak him out! With the doctor, security won't bother us and the blame will be harder to frame on someone, we are just going through a routine visit, you know? Hypo is our so-called friend, after all. Let's think of a way to get many people out too! Everything at the same time, that will cover our mission while it's happening, the staff will be worried about the other prisoners, let's make a fucking disaster! Destroy the hospital, make everyone run away!!!" My eyes pop out, blood starts running wild through my veins, this plan is perfect.

"Hell yes, that sounds fun as fuck!" Avery inputs with a Stoic smile.

"Sounds incredibly lovely, of course, harming Barty! Well Sev, you know I fucking adore blood... but you haven't thought about the fact that injuring Bart may be the stupidest fucking idea my ears have ever heard in my pathetic life! And my damn parents suggested me to be a lawyer! Come on Snape, how are we going to harm him on purpose and expect him to run away after it?! If he still believes in us, of course! Make it make sense! You are taking a piss." Igor spats his opinion out, cornering me with his gaze, he always looks sleepy even when angry, with those droopy black eyes.

"I get your point, Igor, but come on! We got this! Not wound him bad, we can fake it! If we manage to make it convincing enough and with the help of Hypo, we got it in the bag! While they open the cells for him to go out, he can play his part and start running away and just making a mess." I reason with him, explaining everything with the aid of my hand gestures. 

Thinking about his words, it's very clear that I'll be dead before doing something terrible to him just for a slim possibility to get him out, he is sick if he believes I would do that... Right? I do think I am... Yet, his question makes doubt jab at me, a little, very tiny question makes my temperature rise, my body starts feeling similar to an upcoming heart stroke. Would I choose to end his suffering if given the chance? I'm sure I wouldn't harm him, or... Am I just trying to convince myself? If I was the one with the knife in my hand... Letting him go, like the pure spider I buried towards the window, maybe that's the only way he might find peace, for Barty to finally rest instead of keeping him here suffering with us, kill him, thrown his body in the sea.

Sea that's kind, soft, soothing, silent, more human than humanity.

He will never endure agony anymore, and I'll save him from being executed by someone else... Barty will be with Regulus.

I don't know what I'm thinking about anymore, the train is derailing, there's no time to waste anymore, my head shakes trying to get rid of those ideas, the clock is ticking while I address the room once again, focusing better. "Let's call it off for today, we are tired enough, remember to be conscious about the plan that will be unfolding very soon, treat it with extreme carefulness, while we are away I expect all of you to keep on working, be here as soon as possible if you have any idea or new information, this is very important, every single idea matters, I know that all of us can agree that words fall short for this, his safety is a very fragile endowment, and we are responsible for it." Those words echo through the walls, even if they got caught in my throat, the syllables hit us back like stones, damaging our viscera.

While midnight approaches, my eyelids start to drop, I can't remember if I slept on my desk after both of those boys went away, it's surprising how much a human can endure, even tho I have been awake for long hours, my body still pulls itself forward, the silent dread makes me walk very slowly but gives me enough time to enjoy my surroundings with more fervency as well. While heading towards the castle, the path tastes nicer than usual, in contrast of what has been happening lately, since talking with my friends everything turns lighter, even if I'm circled by the doom of night, I can appreciate its natural charm, this slice of time is so much more beautiful than any other hour might be, the tang of the green mandarins is sharp, the stomachs of the bushes start to vocalize louder, the crunchy bugs crawl around them and start to sing into the clear air, crickets and ants are carrying miniature violins and cellos, upholding a whole orchestra. 

Something I need to do first, is to take care of this living corpse, after having it for quite a while I still need to clean it and feed it, so that's the first tasks to complete at the castle. But something else distracts me first, I'm restless and anxious about the plan, even if it gives me a pinch of hope, the pressure of figuring out the small details is consuming me slowly and my limbs start to get prickly, not wanting rest but desiring to run endlessly, just give up and start to burn my legs outside.

Moreover, I drag my tired body towards the library of the castle, one of the few places that I still have a liking for, to try and calm my nervous system down, maybe even call sleepiness, since the adrenaline keeps my skin constantly itching, prohibiting me to doze off. I wish I had Igor's ability to sleep anywhere, he can't bring himself to worry about the noise, even if there's a bulldozer destroying his apartment, he won't notice a thing, I'm the complete opposite, being disturbed by the slightest amount of rustling, that's why the library is perfect for my silent vows.

Even if the memories are still hurting my system, I'm resilient, my skin lost some purple bruises already, while new ones are sprouting since recent incidents, my knuckles and arms are starting to get tainted with that fresh greenish color similar to an old pear, in an attempt to heal those old popped vessels, that shade of green exactly matches the carpets I just step on, they guide me inside and while walking with my usual composure, the librarian greets me and proceeds to gift me a cup of coffee before leaving for the day, the last bit of elixir left, that means I got lucky even if it's already very strong since it has been sitting for hours. That also means that the excuse I gave her somehow worked, she assimilated the tale about Twycross and probably didn't want to question the excuse any further, since she is as busy as me. Maybe she delivered it to the higher ups, but I'm not worried about them, since everyone always believes her, she is a stellar employee, who wouldn't, I'm also mentally thanking Charity and Sybill, over and over again, they probably vouched for me too, so there's nothing I need to worry about regarding that man, at least for now.

Leaving the beverage on top of a secluded desk at the staff room, I start browsing for something to Hyperfocus on, exploring through part of this beautiful maze, desolation grabs my hand and walks alongside me, directing me towards the innumerable lines of bookcases, those amazing volumes that keep great pieces of written material, tickling my nose with cypress and inky notes while hugged by the confinement of the starry night.  A couple of minutes pass by, flying out through the stained-glass windows, until I stumble upon some books that catch my attention, instantly my hands start picking and stacking onto my free arm without a second thought, the special chosen ones. In between the marvelous spines, I have titles that range from 'The ones who talk with the wood folk', 'Humanity in curses and fables' and 'Sociology in teaching'.

The reads feel awe-inspiring and cross every check all around the board for my standards, more normal content than I'm normally exposed too, the words cradle me with care, calling the spirit of inquiry, until they give me the sensation of wanting more and more every time. The exchange felt spectacular, truly calming, until something always manages to interrupt the watercourse, taking everything down with it, while finishing the second book, a hazelnut smell woke me up with a strike, cautioning me about my empty stomach, making my whole body rumble, together with its senses.

After quickly deciding upon that statement, I get up, my books stare at me while I go out, crying like they were just abandoned. My steps control me, leading me towards the door frame, the toasty mocha influence pulls me closer like a spell, begging me to stop at the cafeteria and eat my weight up, I'm always adamant about eating with other people and have them see me do it, but today has been a terrible heyday, crammed with lots of reading and planning till late and right now my brain is shutting down with hunger, enough of it to make me enter and scavenge for a plate, no matter who is there, there must be some leftover food and hopefully, since it's late, there will be no one in there, but of course, I'm fucking wrong. Someone is close, swarming around the cafeteria, a microwave beeps and cups are swishing, I guess that would explain the smell, who is cooking at this hour? Have they been working late and craving for a nighttime snack and energizing coffee to keep the effort up, like me? Or are they preparing everything for the upcoming breakfast time? This is quite interesting. 

I realize after deciphering the mystery I owe one to the person who is sitting inside, with a plate pushed into the nearest table and bunched up together in silence, the woman that has been struggling with her own experience working here, like being bullied into the job and treated like she is insane, there's Sybill, once again. People are rubbish with her, calling her names like fruitcake and loony, I didn't even know the meaning of that first one was, I love linguistics, so shit, I really needed to know what it was, and upon asking the dictionary, it seems that fruitcake is an informal offensive noun, that means eccentric or mad person, bloody hell, what a bunch of failures the ones who came up with that, they like to pretend they are so much better than everyone else, and can't even come up with a decent joke, they just like filling themselves up with gluttony, hungry for approval but rejecting everyone else, how much I despise them, trying to adjudicate other peoples lives for them to serve their own, there are many stories I could share about her, accuse those brainless people that have been dropping venom around here, but to whom? Which ears? Since everyone working here has been participant, in one way or another, regarding the problems she now has to carry, by not saying anything or being the perpetrators, while Charity has been breaking her own back trying to be her only support, as well as sometimes my own contribution and help. Well, I'm sure that fucking Headmaster Dumbass probably is too stupid to notice, so there's nothing I could charge him for, I could only accuse him of always being lost and slothful, acting like his baggage is the only important one, always in a state of lethargy, just plain fucking sad.

Sybill starts forwarding her greetings to me and instantly gives me a chocolate roll with peanut butter filling, both of us not questioning our late adventures around the castle.  "You can use the microwave, they taste better that way." She whispers.

After a brief nod, my steps turn away, my pace has always been very silent and doing as instructed I glide across the room and use the device, attempting to come up with the sleekest movements to not bother the peace. I fidget with the buttons, but of course, time gets vindictive sometimes and likes to make you look stupid, so, the hardest I try to not make any sound, the thing got more out of my control, making me fail abruptly and auto dialing the pastry at a whole five minutes, quickly reacting and getting scared about the roll exploding, my shaky hands push buttons in frustration, stopping the stupid rotating plate a couple of times, making me look like a dumb disk jockey. A raspy giggle echoes all the way from the secluded table, were Sybill laughs while demolishing her own pastry, that makes me feel annoyed enough to shake the whole thing, trying to make it respond somehow, pretty hopeful for an inanimate object, until my composure kicks in for good, encouraging me to knock the side of it a couple of times and after battering the thing once and again, I dig the number pad with accumulated anger, finally pressing down on the one-minute button, I decide I'll just wait until there's a couple of seconds left to stop it, shits finally working, I'm not going to mess with it further.

While waiting and trying to ignore my great moment of brilliance, my eyesight climbs all the way up to the greatly tall windows, they reach the skin of the roof with that nice lattice pattern, it really looks like a waffle cone, shit, I'm ravenous and everything looks like food now, and with the humming of the device mixed together with the beams of nocturnal light, everything starts shaking me like the buzzing mosquitoes who are outside the crystal trying to cling to its surface, I can see all of them, my eyes adapt well within the dark and the moonlight helps me immensely to explore all corners. 
Yes, a minute passes without even me noticing, and my roll is more than ready, I won't bother the other lost owl any longer, I'm starving and will eat this right now. Pulling the plate out, a hit of steam burns my face, a feeling of comfort overwhelms me, the elevated temperature highlights buried manifestations, this damn thing makes me revive an old memory with a flash, even if I hadn't even tasted a bite, while grabbing it and pulling it apart, the sugary scent rapidly transports me into this unknown kingdom, the caramel tendrils stitch an expensive crown of earthy and greasy toasted kernels between the warmth of wheat, the packed bread curls start to hint me something, the whole recollection instantly lifts me up into the arms of Morpheus, dangling me between the fine line of current reality and past.

This struck me with an epiphany, I know what to do now. 

After quickly moving my ass and consuming the confection with extreme velocity, trying to devour the remembrance and tasting every single echo of it, time starts to yell in my ears that the moment has begun and won't wait any longer, so I need to escape towards a phone first, anything that will grant me the ability to communicate what I've just found out, I don't have enough time to run towards the one whose close to the cellar, nor I want to use the ones in the offices, since they might have records of the conversations and possibly find out what I'm going to do. The nearest buildings seem to be the little shops around the corner, or the train station, that last one being the option I decide to go for. 

With the speed of a hare, I sneak out, running with a pale face and two mad eyes, surviving through the difficult terrain laying in front of me. There's so many twisted paths, they all look so fucking similar, they are supposed to make the castle safe, but that's just pure bullshit, I can't manage to convince myself of such a stupidity, it's such a bad excuse for a bandage type of solution, the endless stretches of orange and green can absorb someone to never be found again, endless paths lined with tall cedars, aromatic spicy leafs that fly constantly from above, raining down a gray stretch of sky, quietly laughing at my mortality and my attempt to escape the labyrinth, there's no sun to guide my steps, the clouds drown it completely, leaving me astray. Still, I cling to the only accumulation of clouds that still look slightly lit up, a little curtain made out of dissolving water vapor, a thin membrane who showcases a very small percentage of the sunlight that is hidden behind it, there's always a piece of it that feels more luminous and helps the senseless forest spew out the lost explorers who are still roaming around, this piece of information is the one who forwards me towards my first street, finally I find a single concrete pathway, this one will get me out of here for sure, my steps follow it diligently while I start to feel more sure of myself, still running like crazy but convinced I'm heading the right way, I crawl into a couple of different routes, the ones who stem from the main path, jumping around the streets who turn from stinky mud puddles to harsh concrete pools, those who are bestowed with infinite pebbles and significantly less dense green lumps sticking around the surroundings, the branches are still scratching the surface of my skin, not cutting me, but superficially running their itchy venom around it. I notice I've been up for a whole ass day, way over pulling a simple all-nighter, my dried up eyes connect with dawn, it's melting away on the background, the city is completely dead if not by the handful of people who are running around with the same urgency as me, trying to reach their work places or subdue early responsibilities, while I understand that they don't want to endure the wrath of their bosses upon their presence which is clearly behind schedule, I'm sure they won't ever appease them anyway. So many waves of lost people who try and look put together but are internally screaming and begging for any manner of transport to get them the hell out of here in time, hoping it will crash on the way there and maybe get a small possibility to miss on their duties, deciding upon fate and not themselves, that a disaster is meant to happen and finally find yourself laying down on the sofa for the whole rest of the day. 

Ignoring those pests, I concentrate on my own journey, everything hits me with solar flavors upon my arrival on the outskirts of the small city, inside the station the smell tastes very sharp and clean, organic and green, mixed together with the mineral touch of the old rocks and dewy leafs, everything is so calm, yet my heart is racing with anticipation.

I see Rabastan in the distance, he seems to be waiting for a train.

My body didn't move a muscle upon arriving to the gate, but he turns his head immediately to match my gaze, his face looks incredibly alleviated after.

"Snape! Finally, I can speak with you in person, we need to talk about business... What are we going to do with our plan? I really felt honored while reading your carefully put in writing sentimentality, it was great." His vocabulary matches the full suit he has on, it smells like a shot of espresso mixed with sweet champagne. "We need to catch the person who is messing up with the ministries registries, I am scared for you and also for Crabbe, both of you have been threatened and this kind of corruption is the one I don't particularly have a liking for." His thin scared features turn very bold after that statement, I get instant relief, he is keeping his word.

"I'm still thinking about the whole ordeal... I'm glad you accepted, I believe and trust the project wholeheartedly and see ourselves being great business partners along the process, but tell me, since you reached out first, you must have something in mind that we can tackle first, I mean, your connections with different industries and overall social ties are outstanding to say the least, so Rabastan, we can bring down anything and anybody we want." My posture is architectural, and I do speak with a lot of confidence, I feel it poisoning me everywhere, it feels so delectable to have this control, and be in contact with someone influential.

"That's what I like to hear, you aren't the guy I knew back in the day, this new version, let me put it that way, is very intriguing Snape, I need to admit, and I'm also very satisfied that we rekindled, we are on the same page already, and you understand what's happening behind the scenes, indeed I already have a first proposition, I'm open to negotiate, but right now I have my eyes on the Ministries sudden gravitation towards certain buildings... I plan on infiltrating information they might have taken from us and attack them at the same time they are raiding the next personal address, the next one I think, regarding the information I've gathered is one where they target my guy, Ving Crabbe, we need to cut their throats then and there." What a smile the one who follows, we are so ready to bring them down and never be imprisoned by their secrets anymore.

"Oh, and here, for your train ticket." He slides into my hand a couple of coins.

His words and the sudden brutal planning really ignite something in me, finally I'm going to know more about what they know about the murder, this is the moment. "Don't worry about that, the plan is the important thing for me now..." I decide.

We continued talking briefly after that last very interesting piece of information, but ultimately decided to reunite another time, since the station is filled by curious ears glued all around the bricks, pieces of human remains listening along our conversations and brewing a green substance out of the eardrum, stinky and infected. I'm really looking forward to our plan, I might finally get the answers I'm looking for, the feeling bathing me now is surreal.

The thrilling sensation continues by my side all the way towards the next gates and after finally loosing my breath, I rest my hands on my knees and push my chest down, while I try to regain the recent loss of energy, trying to scan the whole place in look for a seat and not lift any more suspicion, I try very hard to avoid someone spotting me in this manner and eventually rule me out of the bunch, I don't want them getting confused and bewildered by my presence, recruiting more and more gossipers to come and question me, this isn't a light matter, there's no space for nosy, irritant and useless bystanders that won't help me in my goddamn cause, they are going to delay me instead, making me lose even more time than I have already, while they suit themselves... It has happened many times, people see what's occurring, stay in silence, ignore the situation and let the creature that's in danger be consumed in front of their eyes, a remorseless phenomenon.

While looking for a seat, I see many workers from the late shift starting to evacuate, while the new ones are preparing in order for the first morning train taking off, some of them are already pulling technical machinery and heavy materials all around, or just limiting their movements to eat their last meal before their respective long shift, rushing their coffees with urgency and speaking in broken conversations. Otherwise, the station looks sad and empty, seats are scarcely occupied by an amount I can count on my fingers, people who are either sleeping or mindlessly waiting, all of them are adorned with very sour faces and some cheap, cold sandwiches on their hands, wrapped in transparent plastic, this will most likely make their food taste horrid, since the packaging manages to create water pockets on the inside, eliminating the freshness of the loaf, so that's probably why they are always mad, but that doesn't make them stop tho, since there's always people everywhere, the surges of civilians is limitless, the conditions don't matter to them, not the weather, or food, nor the other passengers, people just appear out of nowhere in extreme amounts, bubbling more and more while the day continues. No one seems to be extra intrigued by my presence tho, they are just trying to go by and accomplish their daily tasks, users here tend to keep everything to oneself, that means it's safe for me to slither my way towards one of the tubular structures that connect the first platforms together, I'm looking for the one wall who has the phone booth. 

Half circles curl up into different exits, all of them lined with a rusty shade of red bricks, big halls open towards a multitude of trails, the ensemble is already enveloping me in smoke, the metallic friction of the rails and the axles is strong on the nose, together with the unclean trash from last night. Small brass lights start to burn down, the transition into the morning already started, making me feel extremely exhausted, my steps start to slow down, squinting my eyes to find the bounty, concentrating on my breathing to help me regulate my tiredness, I slowly grow more confident and this feeling continues with me all the way while exploring every corner of the first set of gates, this particular zone has four of them, this bundle being the most famous one, it does look more occupied but, I quickly change route from the starting point, scurrying towards the second two rows after not finding anything in the first ones, finally encountering the expected gift around the last turn, this is it.

After a couple of shillings slide down the metal coin entrance of the payphone, the buzzing charge fixes my signal into output and without waiting for a response I exclaim, "Lucius Malfoy! I'm Snape, my apologies for calling you in this manner, but there's something very important happening at the moment and I really need your help..." My voice insists full of hurry.

The phone rustles with static, then his guttural voice connects with the machine, and it responds back, "Good morning, old friend... still remember me? It must be really something unfathomable that's happening to you, if you decided it's a good idea to reach me at this hour, continue, you can spill it out, I won't question you." His response feels like a breath of fresh air, his harsh and clear speaking pull my feet back to earth.

"I'm really sorry, I'll admit it now! But, I need to ask you for a favor, while knowing it's very unusual for me to do this, I need you to keep up with the story I'm about to tell you." I gift him my most sincere apologies, first to make him feel important and secondly because contacting him at this time is improper, it must be a hassle for Lucius, I feel bad, even if he seems open about it.

"I expected this day to come... I must admit I have never forgotten about your own sacrifices for my wellbeing, you remember? While we were younger, you gifted us valuable time inside your secret bedroom, we would watch sci-fi and mystery for hours on end... And I remember I kept the TV in your hideout, so, don't make a whole situation about this, feel free to say it, come on, I don't have the whole morning to spend on you." He urges with politeness and a tinge of happy melancholy, possibly with some curiosity. 

"Thank you, thank you so much, those where sometimes, I really miss that shit, simple times, Malfoy... Fucking hell, well, there's no time to waste with that stuff, this is a very terrible and complex situation I'm drowning in, and we are not very sure about the details about how is it going to play out, but this is the moment were your patronage will play a part. I am planning a very difficult operation, you might know when it's over, not know, at least not during the first steps are being developed, I can't be spilling secret information this early on the process, but afterwards, if we succeed, I promise you with my own fucking life I'll repay this... I need something very specific, and you are the man for the job, I know how you like to work and completely deposit my whole confidence onto your ethic, would you, perchance, know any way to get my hands onto some fake meat, like a dead animal or something similar? You must know, since you have those kinds of hobbies..." I try my best to say it without fear but still hoping he won't get offended by the sudden inquiry.

Before any more words can find a way out of me, he interrupts. "Ha! You got me on that one, Snape, that's funny, you know? Well of course, that's something I can do, but tell me more Severus! Come on, I'm a nosy bastard." He laughs with joy.

I try to think quickly, he is not going to let me go without drawing some blood, I'm trying to come up with something to get him satisfied and convinced for now, but not enough to spoil it. "We are trying to get me a friend out of the main Hospital, they have kept him in there for a while already, and it seems like he is fine, but the hospital wants to take his money for a supposed special longer residency inside, all of us already ran out of money, and it's a whole mess, but we want to make something crazy to take revenge, something fun to make it easy for him to run out... Anyway, I really need you to start giving me options, or I'll call the next person, Malfoy." I give him the ultimatum, I don't owe him an explanation, I'm starting to dislike the amount of questioning.

He stops for a minute, strange thing for his wicked tongue, but starts with more delicacy, "St. Mungos?­­­Lovely, then I'll get that sorted out... Very well, I know a couple of taxidermists and also a handful of butchers, what type of dead animal do you want? I can bring you a preserved one or a carcass." He lists out the options with a new-found jolliness after answering his curiosity successfully and feeding him information about the very prestigious Hospital we are going to break into.

"You already understand me well... I need something that looks like it was done by a butcher, still with blood, the carcass." I tell, matching his renewed excited tone.

"Fucking hell, this is a big ass operation then, I'll write it down on my to-do list!" He laughs but continues with determination, "Maybe you can talk about it more in depth with me, at the next aristocratic party, the day I'll be visiting the city. I'll deliver the goods before everyone arrives, they will be busy within the celebration anyway, no suspicions... I know some good-hearted people left from there." He offers me a plan explaining to me the location and his words start to grow harsher. "In front of the Noble House of Black, there is a couple of weeping willows, a whole group of them forming a circle around the pond installed on their terrains, there are holes in the ground caved out by foxes, I'll bury your box in there beforehand, and it will stay underground while the whole party is happening, you decide when it's fit for you to go and sneak it out while everyone is distracted, sounds good?" He turns intense with the question.

"It's settled then... Thank you so much, I will remember this." I sentence as my final decision comes to fruition.

There's something specific about this man, he is a balanced mixture of terrifyingly deadly, dirty rich and somehow a type of old mysticism, like an ancient species of gargoyle, festering inside his coven like an ancient ghost, he has been curating his family mansion since he was a child, carefully upholding all of its art and passing down his own eccentricities, he has a very particular and modern taste in decoration but for the sake of the elegance he was raised in, he abandons that edge to keep it classy and antique, finding joy in paint restorations and furniture preservation. Wandering off a little about the mission, I wouldn't be surprised if he turns into one of those limestone statues sitting outside the stairs of his mansion and starts exploring the fairy filled gardens he owns, with grotesque lighted up eyes and marble claws, acting as a beacon to lure in terrible creatures into his property and fortify his power. I'll totally believe if he is the hunter of my commission, the one who likes killing animals for the sake of his twisted and exaggerated delusions.

Those statues are present in Gothic architecture, symbols that guard evil, keeping the ancient land safe and secretly confined, specially for century old families, yet, this people know how to use that power for their own benefit, because instead of using this cursed carvings to keep malice from entering the home, they protect it inside, the gargoyle carefully keeping between its teeth the crimes that unfurl inside, accomplishing a reverse function, not letting a single mistake slip away.

The sun arrives to our sky, with those silky golden threads, sewing our world together until it grows weaker with the swift passage of time, and it seeps into our mortal sky with thinning energy, the wicked god of the evening brings its silver sword and breaks the stitches with great force, imposing his presence and killing the light. My own dead body is walking alongside the well-kept sidewalks, they are spotless and lack any imperfection, the whole street smells like cedar, orange blossoms and marigold, this opens up a secure path for me even if they are very terrible things happening around, this people are smart enough to paint it more nicely, I wouldn't be able to know only by looking at the place, how well they conceal every detail, creating such a prosperous community for people to enjoy on their visits around the buildings, but keeping their ears glued to their walls, making backpackers disappear if they hear a single thing they don't like. 
The Noble House of Black starts to appear in front of me as quick as his words sprouted while settling the deal, you can see this haunting place from very far away, many people assume is a tale, but it exists, between two normal looking buildings on the front. 

I want to be there, way before the party starts, my frail mind can't experience a second one from finish to the start, it's better to be here early, move some strings and pick up my goods with patience. I'll try to catch Narcissa and question her about the suitcase, she might know something that will direct me to the killer, getting two birds with one stone. 

The meeting place with the carcass is far away enough from the house itself to cover me with the surrounding forest after I finish talking with her, I just need to keep on running for a couple stories beneath the main ensemble, that's perfect because I can just hide in the bushes until Lucius buries the token, if he hasn't done it by now, retrieving my existence from the mansion all together, since the castle isn't that far away from it either. It's time to find out what this suitcase wants to keep secret, I'm the one commanded to unveil it. 

The way in, promises me a difficult day, tall buildings whispering atrocities among carefully crafted mansions are keeping vigil, the houses getting more and more scarce with every step, now all the buildings seem to have gone through a time machine, scattered antique houses concealed by modern ruins, distorted and grotesque structures tower over gigantic stretches of green gardens, all of them separated by terribly high walls of layered gray bricks, the exact same ones who start to melt before my eyes, making me question my own mind, mutilated pieces of what should be a house, opening and breathing with macabre intentions.

The mansion imposes itself before me, sky-scraping, when the adjacent apartments rip apart like a wound upon my presence, it looks like an abandoned, destroyed suburban apartment cluster, yet behind that fake wall, there's an antique building clinging to that shell like a necrotic piece of flesh still trying to latch onto the bone, it reaches immense altitudes, velvet high arches and mold stained windows, the doorbell sound flows into every corner of the place, sending shivers all the way from my mandible to my tailbone.

Narcissa is feral, bloody sadistic and cruel. Lacks every ounce of civilized hospitality her sister Andromeda has, not even for respect to her last name.

The door opens in front of me, she inherited the mansion, it has been abandoned for years, but Narcissa is the only one left from the family who never intended to leave it, because she is the only living direct blood related descendant, who has been keeping alive her connections, unlike Sirius, who bowed to never step foot inside this place ever again, and the other heirs have died. Narcissa since being the youngest child of one of the most important branches of the Noble House of Black, has hereby been granted with the solitude of its imprisonment, among the terrible ghosts of the past, while both Bellatrix and Andromeda have rooted out of this prison, for good or for bad, I don't know what option is worse. 

While a couple of minutes pass due to the initial questioning, I start to use that time to plan something in the back of my mind, how to enter without being noticed, subsequently avoiding the denying of my passage, but finally I got the opportunity to be here, I just want to have a polite conversation with her. My clothing is proper, my usual clean outfits, since my luxurious bug always creeps out of me even if It's just a bit, and in this situation it falls perfectly, since the whole room screams expensive, specially what looks like the main hall now opening ahead of me, a sparkly chandelier hanging from the main arched ceiling looks down on us, burning bundles of wax above our heads, crowning us with oily tears, while I notice that all around the niche is scented like raspberry, whipped cream, pears and a little touch of spicy cinnamon, hell, I can't get distracted by minutia now, but there's something terrible I'm trying to dissociate from, the paintings hanging around me make it hard to stay in place, they breathe on my face, their expressions trail out with elongated features, their mouths open and spew a dark sewer colored liquid, I don't want to make eye contact with them, I know who they are, every single one of them.

"I have this suitcase, it's from Regulus room." The last sentence I say, the one who grants me admission from Narcissa.

The people on the walls start to wail in refusal, trying to raise from the depths of hell, even if there's not such place as that, whatever pit closer to eternal slaughter is, all the frames try to break out and laugh at me, only covered by decrepit curtains, providing little to no safeguard, regardless of the effect, we both remain standing tall and fearless around this hollow hall, this shell of a dead insect, I open up the conversation again without any remorse, in spite of being rejected from every single cusp, I won't be able to break in if I let her smell my fear, I'm here and nothing will make me leave, he is by my side.

"You can assume why do I have this or how I got here, but I don't fucking care now, someone killed him, Narcissa. There's something that happened to him, I'm so sure of it and I want to be able to catch it before it takes another victim, I assume you are disgusted by my presence in the same amount I am by yours, but have some mercy upon the dead." Shouting with my whole body worming in disgust, burning with confidence and high concern, I lay the suitcase before us, laying in the center of an ornate and tall entryway bench.

Narcissa ignores me and grabs the suitcase, then turns her back to me, walking up the stairs, with the long trail of a sad black dress following her like suspended water. 

The first set of stairs creak with both of our weights, upholstered with cerulean blue, hand tinctured, soft carpets who slide like serpents all along the spiral, welcoming my sight into the first floor, an open door, I recognize the layout without a single doubt, it's a lot more mesmerizing in the evening, being bathed with the mystery of gloomy hues provided by the savory blue hour, the silver streams engaging with the little metal details from the pricey decor and the hanging three bulb lanterns, the drawing room looks quiet from the outside, I ignore the sight of the deadly tapestry, since I would probably attempt to spit on the floor adjoining that thing, I would do it without regret, yet, there's more important matters that rest in my hands right now, and I try focusing on the overall imposing architecture, everything is filled with majestic, high value musical instrument cadavers, finely painted cups and plates, pint-sized sculptures of animals made out of glass and finally the little painting nook, this one has enough true memories to be less corrosive than the rest of the remains.

"How long did he spent here? There's no painting brushes anymore, someone threw them away right?... It seems like, at least." I whisper, the echo of my words being the only response back.

Upon that statement, we reach another piece, this place is terribly giant, I wonder how I managed to break in last time, I get instantly proud of myself after the thought, until the dread of the next ground knocks me down with puzzling confusion, visibly darker than the other stories, provided with fewer lanterns, I see that I didn't notice it the first time, it's so corrupted, it holds captivity of gleam, boundless within the stretch of an infinite vestibule, rooms on every side, all of them locked with giant carved handles, I'm not fully sure of the shape, since we are walking quite fast, but the shape reminds me of intertwined snakes. 

The questions in my head almost make me lose my balance, the culmination of day sieves upon us, while the poor luminosity makes my eyes grow tired, has this place finally got to me? Since being granted admission by a respectable figure, I assumed she would let me through the security measures, but something keeps tugging at my heart, I can't rule out everything, I must be in a constant state of alert.

Or something else is bothering me? The feeling of being enclosed in this brutal trap, I can see the tears of its inhabitants, they have made the carpet slowly fall apart, growing mold around the seams, how the curtains conceal certain parts of the house, if someone had ventured peering at the inside, they would have seen the broken porcelain, the scattered used matches and blood spattered piano keys.

Narcissa stands insolently before Regulus room, the one I escaped from on my latest adventure and I look up with despair, following the tall figure beneath the fourth and final staircase, a soapy and archaic pearly smell welcome me further, I don't know, I wasn't expecting her to do this, my mind is too hazy to think properly, she took the suitcase before I could react... But what I'm sure of is that I won't leave without the suitcase in my hands again, that's for certain, I don't care what she is trying to do, I'm ready to destroy anything, not a scrap of fear is stopping me from going insane and tear this place apart.

The sound of the suitcase falling down the stairs quickly bestow me with a sudden temperature drop, my skin turns glacial, sending chills running down my spine, making my whole body shiver and my veins to shrivel up. Nimble and quick I run to catch it in the middle, just in time something happens to it and leap towards her in exasperation, making the creaky floors shake with every step that I jump, the walls protest with cursed cries when I start to shout.

"Narcissa! What do you think you are doing?" My lungs lacerating open.

"Shut the fuck up, you think I'm the killer?! Do you?!!! Have you even seen your own bruised palms? Severus, I don't want to hear a single word from your fucking mouth!" In her eyes, darkness starts to crawl, apocalypse firing inside them, violin string thin demeanor, the one from a ruthless emperor.

"This is the only thing...!" I implore, there needs to be a vulnerable spot where I can attack her, my terrible brain is playing tricks on me, don't let this place consume you.

"I don't want to hear what this is, I already know, I'm eradicating the fucking suitcase, no matter what you say to me, or do you see something else? You seem to be afflicted with blindness!" She lunges a kick to the suitcase, making me almost drop it.

Fucking despise her attitude, full of herself as always, both of us can't give away our proud egos, we clash in battle, and as long as we both want to fight, I'm never giving up on this.

"I need to know, Narcissa, if this belonged to him, if Regulus had it with him the last time... did you even see him? Someone killed him, we both know this!" Eyes bursting out of my sockets, crimping my skeleton fingers inside my palm and in and out again, trying to desperately grab the suitcase to feel grounded. This is bad, it's my last option, I'm fucking desperate to find out more and solve this, have been plucking my hair our of my damn scalp, clumps of them, since day one, even bringing the suitcase to hopefully make her see clear, she is fucking insane.

I'm grasping at any possibility, she is the closest to Regulus apart from Sirius, I know she spent a lot of time with him in the past.

"Please be reasonable, I know you are acting too smart, we both know that this will help us find more about what happened, you are also aware of the ties I have with the Malfoy family... I'll give every piece of information I own about them, you can destroy them if that's what you want..." That wasn't the right thing to say, oh, shit. I tried to make her feel pressured and vulnerable, but I don't think it was a good idea, my mouth ran quicker than my brain.

Now her black eyes start to shine wickedly, processing the words I just said, she is so calm, her face so relaxed, yet, that reptile gaze alert me of the fact she could destroy and rip me apart at any given instance, a very thin smile follows, lopsided, showing disgusted amusement, the air turns heavy, she stopped her mission to take the suitcase from my hands and throw it down.

"Severus, do you realize what you just said to me? Ha! I don't think you do... Please repent your utterance, do you think... do you really fucking think, me, from all people, my name, needs anything from the Malfoy's? I'll assure you, I have no problem controlling any of those decisions myself." She spats with fanged teeth.

Unsheathe mine too, these are sharp and can slice through flesh like hers, a tinge of understanding clouds the scene, this egoistical gluttony that runs in our systems, how we use people, we both are capable of losing our minds and start harming, destroying and torturing. Two manipulators leads to nothing, cold blood is fighting burning blood, and mine starts to boil and blemish my skin, making it hot to the touch, threatening to burst out all my vessels, my vision is turning sanguinary. She doesn't know who the fuck she is talking to either, we both made a mistake just then.

She kicks the suitcase again a third time, aiming at my hand, making my bones cry in pain, loosing my grip of the handle. What the fuck is wrong with her!? My senses spike, sweat rushing down my clothes, I'm growing paler, sicker, matching the ghosts of the house.

My instinct brought my own hand to grab a burning candleholder at my left, three candles standing like a fork, it made my hands warm, but not enough to scorch me.

"You are wrong, so wrong about me, Narcissa, you are incapable to even phantom what I am capable of! I'll destroy your precious legacy, even if it takes me a lifetime! I'll tear this fucking castle down! Claw out the bricks one by one until no skin remains on my bones, count on me to make your demise happen." Moving the warm candleholder around my face, so she could see me, see my arrogance.

Unbothered, she stares. "I'll be here to see you try." Narcissa concludes, standing tall behind her castle.

She laughs briefly, not loud, Narcissa embodies fear. At that moment she grabs the suitcase that lays unprotected on the floor by its fragile handle and let's loose, enabling it to roll down the stairs, inhumanely.

No... no, no, she is DEMENTED! What the actual fuck is wrong with her?!?? She is abominable, I'm repulsed by her, "You are crazy! Fucking insane!" My whole body starts to itch with frustration, the suitcase damn it! I hate her so much, so much more than Sirius. 

I start to yell with madness, "Maybe you don't know the feeling because you have been fed with a silver spoon your whole damn life! You are not the only one living in this world! You are out of your fucking MIND!" Almost setting my hair on fire I swing the holder with much confidence aiming at her, just as a warning, it has worked for me before.

She fetches down instinctively, so I decide to continue flinging it all the way, the bottom of the holder passes towards my left and hits something else instead, instantly cracking open a framed painting on the wall, millions of tiny glass fragments flying out of the panel, hitting our faces.

Her pale skin starts to turn scarlet with a big piece cutting her skin besides her throat, Narcissa screeches, "Severus, you are so idiotic! This is the last thing, the last fucking time you come here to ask about him! Don't ever try and invade any of these rooms, sick bastard! This attempt of whatever you are trying to do is calamitous! Get the fuck out of my castle!!! Who do you think you are to fight me?!" She shouts with a guttural voice, I have never heard something similar. After, she runs her fingers through her cut, smudging dirty, ruby fingerprints on her skin, and looks back at her stained hand, everything is happening so fast, Narcissa lunges forward in my direction and punches me in the collarbone, making me drop the candleholder for her to grab, effectively burning the ends on my hair in the process. The dopamine high make me feel nothing, just a force pushing me in the bone, but it does mess up my posture, I try to think quick, I know this will bruise my skin later, but now what do I do? This is getting out of control.

"Why did you destroy the painting? Do you feel sad, wronged, sore?  Oh... Look closely, Snape, my cousin spent hours upon hours to distil this piece to its purest form, every brush virgule rectifying our surname… Unchaperoned and clean from your so-called friendship..." She grabs it from the now destroyed frame and wings it dangerously close to the flame.

"Where were you? Where were your friends?  You just want to use him, Severus! Reevaluate yourself, you are interested in calculating and blaming someone for it, making your travail a success... It might even have been you! Did you think I was stupid, right? RIGHT!? You are so used to spending time with the commonality, they will eventually backstab you, that pestilence Peter, that arrogant Lily, all the way to spend time with the man himself, Sirius... don't ever dare to enter his room." She looks at me, nothing else but determination. "Oh and his sidekick, of fucking course, the only good part about that fleabag. Correct, you might have hoaxed Rosier, Crouch and all the crowd, those pathetic pieces of friends you think you have, but you can't fool me." The corner of the painting starts to brown... What do I do? There are no weapons around me anymore, I'm nauseous, frustrated, my heart is sobbing.

I want to push her down the stairs.

She kept on throwing daggers, "I'm aware of the truth, you want to solve the mystery all by your own, obtain greatness, make capital out of the tragedy... Impress, overpower, your head to be crowned!!!" She shouts so loudly, the walls seem to protest "That's it? Well... Let the beheading fucking commence." That is the last powerful leap, it turns me insane, no! She can't destroy his work, with such scarce clues, we have so little left of him! Part of the painting rolls into itself, to a faint crisp, but enough to make me regain enough anger, he was ready to go to college, get a job, dance, enjoy meals, be a painter or a musician, now he is dead! His body nowhere to be found! Narcissa is breaking into my mind, right? I'm really that selfish as she says? I should have done something... we were robbed, punished, killed.

That made me tremble... that's why I've always wondered what's my motivation? Not because he was a young promise like us, or a good friend. It was only to make him successor of our deeds? Torture Sirius for what he has done to me? I still want revenge, no... I need revenge, he can't escape me again, I'm no longer frightful, Sirius deserves to be doomed.

Shit, I can't let Narcissa get to my feelings, It's to help him, what I'm thinking about! Support him in the form of a brother, the one I never had. This unfair sacrifice nobody aided, nobody!They all laugh in our faces, his sibling, screaming profanities and traumatizing antics, retreating from the house and forsaking his own blood, leaving him alone to be murdered, there's nothing redeemable about him, he only knows how to cause pain.
I need to protect little Severus from the dark markings, from what people have done to him.

Remembering my strength with a flash, recollecting the day I pulled Evan with my raw hands, wounds opening and bleeding by his weight, days when I curled up in a ball alone and sobbed myself to sleep, the sleepless nights roaming around the corridors, wondering what will happen to my troubled friends, how our future looks like, the days we spent together seasick, hanging onto each other in an attempt to calm ourselves down, around the smell of sewers and just grieving our lives, even if we breathe we aren't alive, everything lingers on me, an eradicable bruise.

Kicking the candleholder out of Narcissa's hands after she actively tried burning the painting in front of me, I have renewed leg strength, springing it up like a coil and with a single sweep I knock it down, it instantly flew away, burning down upon hitting contact with the floor. She springs up to me, my energy rushing through my limbs, pulling my frustration forward, my arm and elbow punch in direction of her face and neck, I don't know what I'm hitting, but it makes contact, it felt dangerously close to the slice, it's like the wound is breathing, and her cut is opening further by the unexpected force, I got her, it instantly separates her from the painting, recklessly I aim to grab it, I want it now. 

She stumbles on place, her head moving to the side, but Narcissa quickly regains composure and I feel my jaw flying up. 

The right side at first and then she punches me with anger on the left side to kill me off, my body drains into exhaustion, while I retrieve, I feel skin opening up around my cheekbone thanks to something cold, her rings managing to slash my flesh, the force and the opening slit reach my nose bridge, my eyes instantly water and my head feels hammered down, did it break? How the fuck I'm asking for help around here! This is an isolated castle, shit, all the neighbors will eat me alive. Fucking hell, It hurts bad, the natural instinct to cry creeps in, I'm starting to blur, the smell of blood, burnt hair, old velvet, the sound of the glass cracking, her voice, the metal against my skin and bone, it's too much, I'm getting sick.

My body takes control of me again, and I hastily punch her right into the stomach, pushing her far away from me to try and run away, my adrenaline finally shutting down after the hit. I'm not going to injure her further, I have enough sensitivity, I can't do it, she isn't a bad person, we are just two frightened animals crying out.

Narcissa breathes outwards, crashing into the stair rail, my thoughts of seeing her fall all the way down didn't look farfetched anymore. "Fuck you, Severus! Wait until I can hurt and torture you! I'll seek vengeance, this is fucking over now! If you don't leave now, I'll kill you and hang your dead body outside!" Narcissa commands with icy determination, the whole castle comes down, she remains strongly grabbing the rail with her dead looking hands, I hadn't even noticed, but she has a piece of glass on one of them, and holds onto it so desperately, it's visibly piercing her skin, probably she can't feel it, because anger numbs you. 

Now she isn't fighting anymore, just preying like a hunter, breathing heavily with a scratched neck. It was over until she said so, so she stops, but I know her force and strong will are enough to kill me and maybe even intended to do so, but even if she decided against it now, Narcissa still has the last word.

"You will never catch me! He is dead, Narcissa, accept it and try to do better, at least out of pity for him." I return to her, without a single spark of doubt, I'll face anything the world desires to stab me with. 

Even from the depths of the ocean, he rises, his painting saved me somehow, I grab the rolled up canvas, she immediately turns her head and just stares.

Absently I run my fingers through my bloodied face, fuck this feels disgusting. 

This is a warning, now the painting is mine too, I don't have enough time to worry about her anymore, and I quickly snatch my beloved heavy suitcase, running down the stairs with it, my face completely soaked in red, I don't know what the fuck I'm doing anymore, I just left so quickly and now run looking for the door, sweating and panting, get the hell out of here Severus. 

I slide down the stairs that take me towards the drawing room, I think, I can't make much sense of my surroundings anymore, I feel my feet sliding down and my world whirling, falling down until I quickly grab the rail in a whim and pull my weight forward briskly, lifting me up like crane, this is the last sprint, since I've already flew down the majority of it, this is terrible, I'll get out of here, come on! I can see the front porch while my steps hammer down the vintage property, trapped bodies are starting to crawl out from the crevices, singing curses to me, tugging at my ankles and cauterizing them with ring shaped handprints, the door is right there! My body is failing, but this can't be the end, I won't let it be.

Pull yourself out, these things aren't happening, you haven't reached your limit, stop the agony from the house weeping towards you.

Escaping, crawling away and running, I dive into the trees and foliage of the garden that just exploded around the parcel, upon leaving the apartment complex away, I try to find my way towards the pond, the exhaustion is making me spin, it's impossible to find something inside the green mass, I still have no idea of what just happened, but this shit needs to continue even if my mind has just been a blur of sadness, Lucius springs to my mind, suddenly remembering the original purpose for the trip, I need to find the package before leaving for good, I'm not sure if I can find the trees I'm looking for.

I believe they have very long clusters of leafs hanging down like tears, I have never seen one, but it should be easy enough, I see water! There's water... oh my, it's always water, why it has always been water? This is making me break down.

Without much breath left, my legs unlock and destroy the area, and finalizing everything with just sliding towards the pool lodged here, my body slams down, resting above the neat, recently cut grass, my face getting so close to the border of the water, I can taste the freshness, feel how it fills up my lungs and my body stops resisting until it takes me within the basil colored almost translucent filaments weaving inside, I try to turn somewhat sideways to forget the thought, avoiding the blades of green trying to disturb my slashed face.

There are many places where the earth seems dented, it looks soft and mushy in certain spots, I don't fucking know how a foxes nest looks like, but with the only bits of energy that still linger on my body, I start to excavate, my arms huddle and scoop out piles of dirt, the fresh lake and watery rain notes hit me, the saltiness of something that reminds me of truffle makes my nose water, or maybe it's my bleeding cut just right next to it, this is taking a toll on my body, I'm running like crazy and diving into wet earth, exploring multiple patches, one after the other, sinking into the bare soil, scratching the fucking floor with power, I'm turning crazy, my fingers are starting to lacerate, the dirt is pushing inside my nails, it's so much work, pulling and scooping out, so repetitive.

I manage to open two clusters of four weirdly shaped earth dens, even if it is not that big of a number, my arms protest in comparison. 

The last cluster appears bigger, a ditch that managed to hide itself beneath a bush, while tunneling my way around, I start hitting something with a bit of hesitation, I see what's blocking me from continuing, it is one single sizable styrofoam container, after pulling it out I open the lid slightly, without any more hesitation and manage to see a red cluster and copious amounts of ice, Lucius is a fucking genius, I'll need to lift it up now, with my only bit of bravery left, hide it somewhere, I'll be able to walk? The castle isn't that far away, I've already left behind the terrible house... The sudden tang of the fresh remains closes the gap between my tired imagination and the current situation, this product is extremely sensitive.

This needs to get shipped out tonight.

I reach the castle in sorrow, with my battered body barely standing, the storm suddenly turns serene, I collapse on the floor of the tower, sleeping in a corner until dark.

Often I wonder of the death of an artist, it's said that it happens twice, first the day that you retire from that bad obsession, that's when you stop being a human, at that moment there's no hope left until your last breath, and now I realize it could have been so much different than that, I would have liked for my voice to be stronger, not my actions, have helped all of them instead of worrying about my own skin, even if I know they are the ones who can claw it off. My dreams were just words, someone talking to me, no images or colors, just a voice sharing loose sentences that lack any type meaning, word after word, confusing anomalies and useless stories, I couldn't tell if it was a single voice or a whole ensemble of them, maybe it is mine or possibly someone else's, it is hard to remember when the slumber is over, just being left with the confused whispers that managed to engrain themselves into my mind, let them be, eventually they will run into my trap, oh how I love being the only star, these voices won't stop me.

Snakes are beautiful, they move like elegant jewelry, draping over surfaces like the finest of silk, their eyes are extremely tiny, small crystal beads that never shine but are dull like aluminum, the skin is soft, yet resin like, millions of pointy scales covering their flesh.

I roam around the nightlife upon awakening, my heart in my hand, pulsating with vigor, exploring the most dangerous side streets, people hiss at me from the pubs, they dance pushing into each other like a big flesh conglomerate, this abominable creation is being weirdly showcased by burning neon lights, moving into all directions. The smell of trash and not showered people reach every single corner, the floor reeks of human waste and leftover food, this fucking shit pile isn't for the weak... My wound is hurting, it had enough time to dry, but with the faintest of movements it starts to ooze again, I tried cleaning it with the best of my abilities, trying to remove all the soil, but there's something else bothering me a lot more, I drag the offering around these slums, it slides pessimistically on top of the unpleasant crescent.

Rabastan stops me, very suddenly, cutting off my path.

"Oh, good evening Severus, what a surprise!" He opens the conversation. "Glad to see you here, why have I been granted the honor to be in your presence? Well, half of it. Snape, that's a nasty cut on your face, are you alright?" Rabastan starts to clump his fingers together, one by one, closing them with a fanning motion and pulling them close to his chin.

"It's awesome to see you too mate, don't worry about me, its just job situations... Well, shit, who am I trying to fool?! These recent times have been tough on us, it has been a complete hellfire, and we are cornered in every end... Rabastan, there's something that I want to discuss, an exchange that will be greatly compensated on your side, I know what our plan is going to be now." I share my statement with open arms and continue to convince him, "You are one of the most influential people I've ever come across, and the plan we are working towards won't work if we do not do this first, and of course only if you can give us some of your valuable time and information, I know that you are greatly busy and manage all the string pulling behind the scenes." I challenge him, processing how quick he found me, the night is going pretty well, even tho I grow conscious about my fleshy scar, it does give me a certain elevated motivation regardless.

Rabastan smiles lightly and starts spilling strong statements like leaking whiskey, "You want to change it? Of course, I have time for people like you, you are a great professor, Severus. I can't believe I'm the one who needs to be saying this, but you really are the last one standing that is still willing to teach everyone about the dangers of the dark arts, don't tell anyone, but all of those indecent people who attempt in a very abhorrent manner to direct Hogwarts, appall me, they truly undervalue you, as well as your work, something that should be much more appreciated, but alas, continue with your speech, I need you to tell me more." He compliments and prompts the conversation further.

That made me sigh in relief, maybe it's true after all, that I've been doing something useful. Someone else finally noticed what I have been trying to do this whole time, this encourages me greatly, making me smile painfully, hurting my recently opened skin but quite excited to continue, "Thank you Rabastan, but, I really don't know how we are going to approach this matter, or where to even start, it doesn't have to do with work at least for now, but first, there's some information that will be essential for an operation I'm leading, I know you have many contacts around these places, and I've already talked with Lucius beforehand, he is on board, so you can trust us, I will pay for your collaboration." I offer with a harsh voice tone.

"That sounds pretty good, like music to my ears... Do you like Rossini, perchance? Anyways, we shall talk about our mundane taste another time, you know what? I like you because of that, sure of yourself and straight to the point, trying to wreck the world, as always... But I need details first, I can help with your plan, I'll be glad to." He offers me with enthusiasm.

"I'm still figuring things out, but we want to get some people out from the prison's custody, I need information about what's happening in the inside as well as someone who can deliver this package as soon as possible, we will need to work together on this affair, extra professionally and very quickly. You know many people who are working there, every detail is constructive and can break or make the deal, prepare to have a massive role in the whole ordeal, you are the one with enough intelligence for it, you need to move the package around, make sure the gift can arrive to its destination safely, and it will unfurl a whole mess inside, this will grant us the freedom we are all seeking, like, don't you want to send a message to the higher ups? You already know who is there, he will be waiting for you, it's all benefits... What do you think, do you accept the deal?" Finally, the question is on the table, I know his soft spot... he misses someone there.

Rabastan starts laughing from the bottom of his lungs out of nowhere, scaring me instantly. "Did I fool you so easily, bastard? Of course, I don't want anything to do with you or your plans! You have the suitcase Snape... I know what you have been doing...." He pulls out a flashlight from his pocket, throwing it in the air and catching it egoistically, at first this made me question his actions but after scanning it well, undoubtedly, it's my light. 

"Like always, you are so naive to think you are better than everyone, and you deserve to hurt people as you please, don't get involved here, or you won't see another day. That little cut you have on your face, fucking weak bastard, haha, I know what happened that day, oh Severus, you are crazy, you know that?! You can't hide from what you have done! Be sure, I'll be extending that wound through your whole body, I will open you in half like a dissected frog, you need to confess right now!!! This little plan of yours, trying to get people out of jail, what a terrible mess, maybe you don't know because your brain doesn't work properly, but that's completely illegal and against my work! You already told me every bit of information I need, so I'll be the one taking this to the proper authorities..." His eyes are melting around in his face. 

My plan is crumbling before my eyes, my anger stops me from saying a single word.

"Hahaha! A rat got your tongue, boy? Did I scare you? That's so funny, oh my, alright, I take enough pity of you, we have been acquaintances before, so, now that you are out of options and got so easily ambushed just by a couple documents I've sent you, I'll be lenient, there's still compassion in me, see?" He jokes while opening his arms in a gesture of power, then he delivers his last statement, "Give me the suitcase." He demands with a smiling face that exudes anger but enjoyment at the same time.

"I... that's impossible, Rabastan." I turn conscious about my slashed face again, how did I slip up? I'm trying to find words, but these are running away, why is this happening to me.

"You know I won't go easy on you, I won't let you in peace! I'll never stop until you are rotting in that cell with all of that garbage you call friends, come on, SPEAK UP!" He closes up the space between us and pushes his shoulder into mine.

I need to manipulate him into another decision, I'll use every single weapon I have.

"I'll give myself in after the operation ends, I assure you, you can hunt me down until you see me in there, kill me and bury me in that jail cell, but let me do this! I will get your brother out of jail, and you can throw me in instead, you just need to sneak the box in. Please Rabastan, we need to do this, I'll confess when it's done, they can incarcerate all of us, you just need to be more, I mean, it's... You transport the material in and Rodolphus will be out!" I use the deadly name, stabbing him right in the heart, without thinking it twice.

He smiles at those last words, contrasting my emotions with calmness.

"Damn you Snape!" His voice turns raspy after a minute as he bites his lip in disgust, "It seems like you know a bit about me as well... who mentioned my brother?! Why do you know he is there?!? Don't ever say his name again with your dirty mouth! I'll rethink this decision, alright?! I despise you so much, come on, tell me who shared that information with you, I need a name, who informed you about him, TELL ME." He lost his breath after that last accusation.
"I have no idea asshole! Isn't my imprisonment enough?!" This is getting to my nerves, it can't be happening, I'm living in an endless nightmare.
"Good, as you please, then! Do you want me to share some secrets about your little friend Barty?!" He spits out and looks directly into my eyes, and intimidates me with his closed up face, "I can tell you everything... The way he scrapes the walls, grinding his fingers over and over again without grace, oh Snape, I know he has lost all his nail beds by now, they break with the effort and the fragments get absorbed by his skin filaments, making it painful for him to even grab a spoon, I've seen the way he bleeds away... it's pure torture. I can tell you so much more, something more cruel, more of your liking, do you know how he crawls to sleep, after the exhaustion of screaming and crying finally gets to him!? His voice stops working after a couple of hours, what a poor thing... What about we discuss one last thing, before closing this settlement, something quite ceremonious, let me explain to you every single detail of how he yells in agony while being beaten up to death... Yes, to death! What do you think about that, Severus?..." The question lingers in the air like poisoned by arsenic.

It's getting hard to swallow, my heart is a knot... that information is making my soul crumble, I might cry right here in front of this bastard, what have they done to him... I think I might kill, this feeling is crawling in me again, I don't understand what's happening, why do I want to kill so often now? And the worse thing, why everyone treats Barty like he is a corpse, without anything in him besides just a bag of organs, I can't handle this any longer.

"If you sneak in the box, I'll do everything in my power to proclaim every bit of information I own, every single coin in my pockets, you can torture my sanity, I'll give you every classified detail of the operation, I can work for you and your brother for the rest of my life, I promise I'll tell you every single name I know... and... I'll give you the suitcase." My desire to get him out no matter what, wins over me, I figure out that if the operation succeeds, I'll save his soul, maybe Barty will be pardoned if I do this for him.

"That's more like it... Yes, I like that, now you can get away from my face!!! See you in jail, Severus." Rabastan finishes dictating my sentence with a content grin.

He grabs the styrofoam box from the floor, turning his back around with arrogance, I stand there and see him go.

Finally, that piece of shit lets me go, there's more important things I need to do! Oh my, only if he knew that this operation is happening, and it's just hours away, what a fucking loser! I managed to trick him, as expected.

The streets were expecting me before this whole situation, they still are, whispering to me with the iciness of cold cypress and the contrasting warmth of half smoked cigarettes. I'm glad I brought my long and heavy coat, filled with fur on the inside, to keep me protected from lurkers, all of those empty people trying to find meaning, where the night answers back with infuriated oaths, how much aversion it feels towards all of those who can't appreciate its sublimity and decide to do the inexplicable before its proximity, cursed ocular organs now stare at two figures on the other side of the cottage, we are both sitting inside an ancient, vintage café who has been just reopened, people outside can see these two vultures feasting on the table, our silhouettes crouching against this little window, shattering with that homely orange light from the comfort found inside.

Igor is the only one who is available tonight and one of the most important pieces since he is going to be the one guarding our movements and keeping vigil on the entrances, to make sure Barty is moving quick and be safe that someone is going to be there who can transport him all the way to the safe place, that person being Evan, he wants to stay back in the cellar just expecting us. Both of us spend hours mapping out the whole Hospital, thanks to word of mouth and a napkin that Hippocrates slid beneath my door last night. We marked with the letter x, the useful doorways and sizable windows, until my voice starts to protest, the buttery food and meringue tasting beverage gives me a determined and silky tone, discussing how we are going to defend ourselves, while Igor tries to calm me down stating that we are all entitled to our own ways, I insist we plan exactly what we need to bring along, something to break, something to stab, lots of quality material to wear and keep our guts intact while also being aware of the temperature in there, keeping in mind the unsuspected situations we haven't even thought about, we need to have something for every scenario we manage to put our claws on. 

A rundown for the entire plan, the entrance, initial movement and eventual hit, all of us need to prioritize rest, food and keeping a clean mind, as well as accommodate everyone who will be working together, the quantity of people we are going to bring, keeping a small circle and someone expecting our inception.

We are unwanted guests after all, emerging from the cruel bushes, grasshoppers hugging our trembling skins, the delicious texture of velvety sage plants touch our fingers, while the prickly rosemary buds tickle our ankles. All of us are suited up, I decided on my tactical vest that has been my loyal companion, perfect vessel to bring a weapon, I suddenly remember I need to buy a new flashlight to replace the stolen one, the others have heavy-duty boots on and their own shirts and sweaters, with their respective hidden weapons too, we prioritize easy movement.

A classical tune invites us with favorable reception, the tower we are in front of is part of the lost city's skyscrapers, all of us look upwards, our faces lit up by the nocturnal gleam, we have fearless expressions, even if the building is that size, we stand taller, we are hungry and infuriated, foaming at the mouth, ready to take everything down.

At eye level we have the dummy that grants every entrance, it looks extremely well-made and crafty, living in its own fake magical kingdom, nuzzled inside its respective small cubicle, with a tiny hanging yellow lamp and a fake desk with doll sized paper and pen. It has a simple dress on, and it didn't flinch at our presence, it looks like any other abandoned building. All the cut-out plastic windows have dolls making it look like a full apartment tower, residency of a bunch of people with different stories and lives, their woolen hair looks soft, and it gives such a lively feel to the place, it looks like a normal clothing store, with dead mannequins who have been forgotten, no one is brave enough to even come close, there's never people here, so it scares everyone away, never expecting there to be something, but trespassing that curtain of carefully build lies, they lodge large blocks of medical wards.

We stand expectant before it, whispering the secret code to the doll, "Venison blood." After it, something rustles inside but leaves us waiting... Did I forget the correct words? Shit, what if someone else is on the other side and manages to catch us? I wonder if Rabastan finished his part of the deal, this bullshit is making me quite impatient, I'll break this dolls heads off until someone responds.

Fuck this shit, everyone looks at each other with panic, if someone else is there, the whole plan is over, and we aren't even inside yet. Igor stands there with his porcupine hair, while mine is rolled in a bun, this is the only time I've ever seen Igor with glasses, rounded and slightly aquamarine, I wonder if they are just decoration, or he wants to concentrate a lot better today, since his part will be to run around the rear, only awaiting extreme danger and keeping the victim safe on his way back, if we can't follow his steps right away to guide him. Avery follows suit, he has that mad face with a wicked grin, messy clothing and ripped dark sweaters, a couple of them to prevent internal scratches, his shoes stomp around while he hovers from place to place, impatient, sitting down and then pushing himself outwards again like a canister of fake peanuts with a colorful animal inside.

Little red demons waiting, are we disguised like it, are we not? Maybe this isn't meant to be our color, and we were painted with suffering, this sacrificial body makes us gain more power either way, even if things might seem wrong, we will enter. Igor plays with the crowbar he brought, we will destroy the entrance if it's needed... Thankfully after that thought, the wooden door opens, just besides the dummy, Hippocrates is waiting for us and rush us inside, this is heavenly, he doesn't say anything, just leads the way.

Upon entering, my skin starts shivering, we are going into battle, something uncontrollable.

What we see, is Armageddon. There's so much disaster surrounding us, everyone is shouting with agonizing cries, the type you would hear at the end of the world, violent punching fits explode in all corners, there's people hitting each other for the sole purpose to gain an empty chair or a bit of water, the machines are broken and all the substance has spilled into the floor, people are trying to take the last drops of it in desperation, to drink and quench their sliced throats or clean their wounds, some of them are dragging themselves on the floor, leaving a trail of smeared blood like sanguinary snails. I can assure that it looks like many people escaped the prison today, and they are all here at the same time, What has Barty done?! Well, a good fucking job. This is the perfect disaster, everyone seems to have escaped, and every single prisoner is trying to get to the windows and pry them open, plead the security to let them leave through the doors, but sadly for them, everything is shutdown and the hospital is now isolated, to keep custody of the multitudes of dangerous individuals. Of course, there's the natural commotion and swarms of people running like worker ants, all of them with their own purpose, they have a place to go, every single person is doing their thing, but with increased speed, all of them look like they are on something, running desperately, not the usual mechanic day-to-day movement, it's pure delirium. Multiple doctors, nurses and any employees you would expect at a hospital are trying to get the patients to where they should be and unluckily for us, the most popular injury seems lacerations, some punctures and avulsions, as well as some exposed bones, so hopefully our doctor manages to help us without missing his duty, well what the fuck, since when are people my concern.

The hospital opens further, it looks like death, sickness, famine. Every single one of us try to walk with calmness through the swarms of half dead bodies, even if it seems like an impossible task, we can't lose our minds before the whole operation unfolds further, it's slowly starting to feel even more real, and I must say we are doing our best job, our faces match our desensitized emotions, amazed but controlled, our internal conflict is unreadable, all of us know how this shit goes! We do a whole run down from the ground floor, we are meant to be here at this stage, but it's still a labyrinth with multiple halls and rooms, all of these are equipped with uncountable rows of chairs, there's the admission's desk, completely terrorized by individuals hanging into each other and grabbing onto the cubicle, trying to catch one of the receptionists phones with little luck, because all the lines are pulled out, but we continue, and pitifully try to ignore the sight, we make our way through all of this shit and around this terrible process we find ourselves being witnesses of a whole calamity, and its various degrees one after the other, they tried to decorate the place in a way to make you forget where you are, painting the walls with lively pastel green, then provided the roofs with fancy glass lights, crystal bubbles that shine like diamonds, looking like tiny droplets of water that have been recently sprayed on the roof and engulfed little fireflies with them. Now, it's full of handprints and curses written with blood on the walls, people begging for help and running humans trying to find somewhere to go.

The smell surrounding us is reminiscent of clean gauze, chlorine, mineral scents and fabrics, those last ones pestered by undergoing the worst possible conditions, destroyed by millions of different patients that get admitted every day, but beneath those artificial touches, there's something potent that hits me quickly after, the putrid and bittersweet note of decaying meat, some hallways try to mask it with cheap fruity tints, cleaning products that make the decaying ensemble even worse, reminding me of cadavers decorated with flowers to make the stench bearable, I wonder if the people here have seen a dead body? I have, it's not a thrilling experience, it's very plain and lethargic, just a lifeless figure, drenched out of its natural movement, It will happen to everyone eventually, and I'm sure the doctors have experienced worse things. 

Well... there are some individuals here who took part of even more twisted things, the prisoners, of course. Yet, we are here, feeling unbeatable like they were while committing their crimes, full of oneself, all of us can stop the world and have the power to do so, my group finally reaches the hall we need, one by one we start entering, matching our steps softly, our moves are sweet as syrup, we have blood staining our teeth and our fingers curl up in hatred, we are ready to fight people until our bodies are incapable of continuing. A lot of feelings strike me while slowly getting hits of joy because we are quite close... I hope Rabastan is looking for his brother, I wonder about everyone, all of these troubled people sharing a similar situation, I can't wrap my head around the fact that we are all here, and even someone I would have never in a million years would have expected.

His father is waiting by general services in the ward we are now entering, what a moron he is, just a piece of shit, he is at the wrong door.

He is bashing the thing with both hands, yelling something about looking for his son... how dare he?... I wait until everyone walks away far enough, dodging the crawling people and scattered seats, my steps follow his trail like a reptile, this is your time motherfucker, your destiny has been written, Ha! By me!... I slowly realize I have been biting the inside of my mouth this whole time with anticipation, I start to taste something sour.

I retrieve the knife out of my pocket, my head is pulsating, my surroundings feel like nothing, my chest feels hollow but with a faint latency burning in me, my anger clouds me, I see red. 

It feels dangerous, wrong, as it glides into his rotted skin, my chest pulsates, and the instant his voice yells in pain, everything is worth it and a surge of dopamine hits me, I just did something incredible, fuck I'm brave... The knife hangs out on the skin of his back, right where wings should be, he will never be enough to have a pair, the shoulder blade opens up suppurating necrotic skin and will keep on rotting. 

Then, I cover my face with my shirt and I start running again to find my friends, my breathing and spiking senses are slowly returning to normal, the man just buckles in surprise and his head plants down into the door, probably he won't die, who knows really, wounds are unexpected and bleed out until fatal, but his struggling is enough for me now, his painful attempts to contort himself and pull the weapon out are amusingly great.

Only us, we will seek a new day for him, make everyone who has ever hurt him pay, Barty deserves to be out, see the daylight again, smile and laugh, cook and eat without broken fingers, be himself again, we are going to do that for him, of fuck yes we are.

I reintegrate and hear, "Come on guys, he just arrived, and we need to get him out of here as quick as possible before authorities come, this situation has escaped from our hands and time is cutting short." Hippo's eyes are fit for a madman, alert but pretty still, he interrupts my racing heart, he passes everyone on the ward with a weird stillness, still directing everyone with confidence. 

We break inside the hallway that's way past the first row of stairs we just left behind and also ignore the cubicle where the man is having a fight for life, this part of the Hospital has a very specific purpose, treatment for creature-induced injuries, but even if the patients here were not attacked by something, they still need to be in this ward, since it's the only one who treats open wounds. The patients are bubbling, all of them scattered in the floor, folded into themselves within pain, like they just got pushed out of their seats and now are slinking all around the tiles in dismay, while the ones who are not moving, are laying down rocking their body in a calming motion, to subdue the aching. Distant murmurs and a lot of voices talk and intertwine with the buzzing of the beaten up Hospital speakers, and all of them wail at the same time, while someone just got a coughing fit, pitifully trying to cover their mouth after. There are people with extreme bruises, open wounds, pools of blood and just terrible fates, there's a particular case that repulses me upon laying my eyes on it, firstly, it surprises me a bunch and makes me flinch instantly with astonishment, someone has an open wound on their chest, full of worms. My mind would have instantly thought of a sight that would be present in a scary movie, but this is far away from that... it's kind of close, but only in a particular detail, the amount of bloodiness is extreme, but apart from that I notice everything seems to be contained in his own field of space, his maggots are not moving rapidly, like a gruesome display to shock our eyes, they are just slow creatures, calculating all around the already explored traces of their meal. Even the bravest of people, I'm sure would feel surprisingly heavy inside their cores, a tinge of responsibility, sadness or just plain despair, since we are all seeing him, still alive. 

Someone rushes by his side and takes control of the situation, stuffing his open wound with some sort of material, pushing it close, then they grab him by a healthy arm and start pulling him towards another secluded room, his calmness unsettles me, he isn't screaming, nor crying, just laying down and looking at his open chest, just plain staring at it, all the way from his difficult field of view. The event made enough fuzz and turns enough heads for us to slither our way in front of Hypo's office, we are very calm, treating this like it's just a walk in the park, no one really notices us, since we are part of the disaster, the mess of circulating escapees, but having something else be the center of attention is good too, we have such contrasting situation, he is worried because of his chest and his life slipping away, while our group is preparing something that no one will know it's about to happen, how different our perspectives look, coexisting, so meaningless, we aren't anything, we will eventually cease to exist and not feel anything after all of this is over, if I start seeing everything on the grand scale of things, everything we do is useless, nothing matters, not his worms nor our plans.

The hall closes into itself, we are only concentrated in our narrow hallway, I start feeling nauseous, the wall displays several doors, all of them lined up, they twist together like I'm seeing them through a cats eye, some of them with warning signs on them, other's without.
This first one surprises me, there's someone loudly punching the door on the other side of what's now the entrance next to me, screaming multiple pleas, this is heartbreaking, who is he talking to? Is he trying to reach us from there? Asking for compassion in humanity, waiting for salvation, hoping someone is there to listen? Or maybe he doesn't believe in that anymore and is asking for forgiveness in a way to supplicate towards a higher force to stop his suffering.
"PLEASE MAKE THIS PAIN GO, I'M DYING, HELP ME, GET ME OUT, I CAN'T BE HERE." Something in his voice just makes me go insane all of a sudden, the way he is ripping his vocal cords, I've never heard a human being so scared, so close to death, asking for help in this way, while dying slowly, and it's just happening next to me.

In between the whole disaster of people walking around and my group navigating the longest hallway I've ever seen to find our door, I open this particular one with the voice inside, I try and do it rapidly with a quick flick of the handle and continue walking with my friends, this is a good deed, towards probably someone who doesn't deserve it, but his voice just chills me enough to act upon it, he will live with the guilt of his sins, not me.

After a couple of seconds I hear someone approaching me from behind, the man who was just ripping his lungs out, now with a strained and sore voice, walking weirdly, I just limit myself to watch him as he walks close, until he unexpectedly starts running, where is he heading to? He lunges at my body in a blink of an eye, fucking shit! I get surprised and retrieve my knife, closing the distance and grabbing him by his arm, placing the blade right onto his side, to pierce his stomach, nobody touches me, a brittle string of fear strangles me, I think about how it won't be a problem slicing through his thin and destroyed old gray uniform and pierce through his skin until he bleeds to death, covered by what seems to be a wrecked medical gown.

He proceeds to retrieve his position and stare at me instead, mumbling some apologies, the guy doesn't want to harm me. 

I stare back, the guy quickly elevates his arms, like asking for a last merciful hug to finally lift him to paradise, he seems to be trying to reach me even if I refuse, this is a mess, his clothing is just hanging onto a thin and cadaverous frame, eyes looking desperately hungry, how long has it been since he has eaten something, he has knotted hair that looks borrowed from a corpse, shit, finally he lunges at me a second time, trying to grab me in desperation yet again.

"Please don't go, please... I beg! Don't leave me alone, they are going to get me! They are getting me! Please, I beg you stay with me, I can't be alone! They will get me, please, Sev, help me." He shouts in desperation.

Sev? Isn't this man a maniac coming from jail? The name my friends call me?! I can't find any words to say back, but instantly I try to push him off me once more, trying to lift his head up with force, without much contact, he has some open wounds and fresh scratches plaguing everywhere on his body.

My senses spike and my body retracts, my entire skin fills with fright, oh no, it can't be, its impossible, right? Is he going to hurt me? I sought the idea that he was very far away, it cannot be him surely? This is impossible, I can't understand... Oh, please.

My new moon cornea instantly connects to the mole that's above his upper lip... It's Mulciber.

"Mulci...Mulciber? Is it you?! Do you recognize me?" I blurt out with urge.

"Severus... don't let them get me, get me out of here." He pleads again, lunging at me until I decide to accept the embrace.

"Are you well? You cannot walk properly! What happened to your foot? Explain!" I scream at him, noticing his limping and lack of shoes.

"I don't know... what have they done! I'm sure they were the ones who lashed out on my leg! I'm sure they did this to me! Get me out, please." He says again and pushes himself out of my arms, clashing into the hallway, he instantly gets frustrated and after it, Mulciber starts to bang his head on the wall repeatedly.

We all believed his parents killed him, drowned him in the bathtub... why now? Why here?!, this can't be fucking happening.

"Stop, stop! You are good now! We are all here, come with me, you will stay with us, follow the crowd, we are going to get every single one of you out to safety, just try and pay attention to what we say and ignore everything that's happening around us, grab this side of my vest, try and calm down breathing, just follow me." I instruct.

With a shaky hand, he reaches towards one of the belts and secures it tightly. 

"We have a visitor, please bear with me, he will continue with us." I announce to everyone when I catch their speed for the second time today, they all turn their heads with a rush, all with stunned and powerful faces, all beaten by the adrenaline, every single one agrees and the doctor nods, there's no time for doubt, only going forward. We got this, we are ready and starved, eager to beat the system.

I know they are distracted by their own purpose, and I just, can't help it, even if there's more people to take care off now, shit just happens, and nothing will stop me, I need to push all the madness away, I'm the leader and even if I don't even know who I am trying to save now, I'll make the decisions, we all have already accepted that we will bring justice, or at least make our voices scream and kill.

Hippocrates opens up his office for us, the one on the right, the Dai Llewellyn ward, for Serious Bites.

It's quite a small room, we pass the green sign with a symbol of an arm being bitten down, the place is only spacious enough to store a couple rows of medical beds, some of them have open curtains, but mostly they are all shut down, some of them are very used while the other ones look as good as new, I feel like we are trespassing Hippocrates intimacy, we have always seen him outside, never I would have guessed that our steps would lead us to his own work office, I'm impressed by the cleanliness, it contrasts with everything else, he keeps it looking extremely neat and there is only one large medieval window parallel to us bestowing some moonlight but closed with long curtains, stuck to the main wall in the back, while at our sides lay the resting places, all decked out in the same shade of light green, while at the right corner there's a desk, a lot of old cabinets and equipment, there seems to be a figure sitting in the office chair surrounded by some compact bookcases.

Mulciber looses his grip to me, shaking in place.

"I feel, feel... dizzy." Mulciber curls into himself.

"Rest on the bed, we will be ready in a second, don't go anywhere else." I state and he does as instructed.

I turn around, my group has already put themselves to work, prying open all the curtains, fetching glimpses of the underside of the beds, just in case he is hidden there, "Come on you lot, you can do it boys, we are very close..." I decide to join them and manage to open two curtains with little luck until I get to the last one of the row they haven't checked, already half open.

I stare down at what looks like the bed he placed his stuff on, it feels so different from the overall doom of the hospital, it felt like nothing In the best way possible, it struck me with a sense of simplicity and a weird stir of comfort, I think about how he tried his best to bring something, he carries a beige blanket, those that have that itchy fuzziness, the ones who smell dull and heavy, and sitting above there's something that looks like a dark fleecy ball, like a stuffed animal, oh my, maybe to protect his broken mind. This feeling of hollowness, that nothing is important and that this will turn just alright embraces me for a soft moment. 

Probably the only things that he managed to sneak in and out of prison. 

His belongings, his fucking things, why he has so little left with him? A wave of sadness washes over me, his fucked up brain missed many years of developing his sense of the world, scared and wounded like prey deer, with little things to call his own. 

After being consumed by the stupor for a moment, the others find their way next to my unmoving figure.

My gaze wanders off, there seems to be a figure behind the curtains draping over the unique window, the only crescent that's connected to the outside world, a single escape.

We see Barty, the world just collapses down on us.

While opening the curtain, we finally have him with us again... He is curled up like a lost creature slashed by brutality, hugging his own legs, drenched in sanguinely liquid, Barty, a bloodied martyr, spilling out excruciating agony, blood runs down from his chest and covers his abdomen with sin, the blood of the animal bathes his face, the sacrificial stag, he notices his cover being moved, and his eyes seem to be falling out of his face, carved out by sadism, his irises double in size and his mouth opens in ferocious surprise, the corners of his mouth have dried up blood, his hands are unrecognizable, fractured and morphed into a mass of dirty bandages, his fingers still move decrepit, and even if this cruelty is clinging on him spitefully, his eyes shine with content, it makes me feel devastated, my eyes turn glossy, it's hard to see, he smells awful, a metallic figure corroded by ruby judgement, but his eyes are so alive, they are shinning, so different from his tortured body, my inner instincts want to sob and destroy who did this to him.

"Barty!!!" I shout as he flinches in response, we all go and get him.

"Guys! I thought you all got caught!" He lifts himself up and sits on the window sill, while Igor grabs him by his arms, without worrying about the terrible state of him, pulling him out the sill all the way, if Avery wouldn't be there to grab him by the rib cage, he would have fallen down.

"We finally fucking got you here, Crouch! Our chaos boy! Bring it in!" Igor starts shouting at him with good humor, we keep our smiles even if we just endured the routes of torture a couple of minutes ago, or hours, I don't know how much time has passed. 

His eyes start to turn red and while all of us were welcoming him, we hear his nose snorting, he seemed like he was just about to cry, but briskly starts to hit his head repeatedly with his own curled up fingers.

"Fucking hell…" He cleans his face with both of his palms, pulling a faint trail of dry blood under his eyes and smiles wickedly, the sob instantly went away, he stopped the crying on command and just looks injected with dopamine instead.

"We need to go now! Please! I AM TURNING CRAZY, FUCKING HELL! Come on boys! We all got this..." This is his usual self, ready to fuck this place up. 

He quickly grabs the blanket from the adjacent medical bed with the stuffed animal wrapped into the fabric, hugging it tightly, with fear, even if he doesn't want to show it.

"Hippocrates, what is happening right now?! We need to bring patients in now!" A voice interrupts us on our way out, meeting us walking towards the center, where our doctor waits patiently for us.

"Augustus, ask no questions, we are here to help people, I know you understand this better than anyone else." Hippocrates warns him, he gets a sour response from the opposing end.

"He has a fractured ankle." Augustus says out of nowhere, pointing at the figure resting on one of the beds, the one I lost track off, oh shit, there's so many people I need to take care off now.

"Shit! Guys did someone get hurt on the way?!" Hippo goes through every single one of us, until his eyes land on Mulciber's ankle, we both follow his gaze.

I run by his side to look at the damage, I didn't notice that the state of his skin has been that bad this whole time, his ankle is doubled in size, extremely bruised, and his whole foot is misplaced, I manage to see something beneath the translucent skin, it's very bloody, and it has a beige color to it, but it still remains with the skin painfully latching onto it. 

"Is he?!... Oh my fucking, shit, crap, bloody fucking hell... Piss the fuck off! Is it really him?!!! What a strong ass scumbag, how did he survive for this long!" Igor's lunatic mind explodes, realizing who is sitting here, and proclaims his extensive catalog of words.

"We can't be asking more questions about why Mulciber is here, he is barely making it!" I shout back.

"Mate, they are taking a piss! HA! What the actual fuck is happening now! I never noticed it was you, Mulciber!" Avery says with a chuckle, agreeing with Igor and bumping his elbow into his direction, coping as he can with his faster emotions.

"Broken malleoli, it might be two of them or more, this will require surgery." Augustus breaks in kneeling and assessing the situation with dryness, he doesn't waste more time after his statement, trying to move the victim towards a laying down position.

"Don't dare to touch me!" Mulciber hisses from his sitting form, clinging closer to one of the belts from my vest again... He wants to hold onto something, scared and wounded, I put my hand on his shoulders to reassure him, this is breaking me in half.

The understanding downs on me, he won't be able to make it much further. I feel my eyes get sore and glossed over, a knot folding on my throat, seeing him this terrified, shit, I don't know for how long I'll be able to continue myself... I can't abandon him! My first thought is giving up now, my time has come... I need to give up!!! But they fucking believe in me! I can't let them down, I promised not to let anyone else die! What do I fucking do?! I remain as composed as possible, trying to calm myself down with the feeling that Mulciber and Barty want me to continue and lead their stranded ways, what are they going to do without us? I can't let another live slip out of my grasp! They won't continue dying on me, I won't let Regulus down, I refuse. 

I try looking at my surroundings, not daring to make eye contact with him, I need to continue even if my voice wants to fail and cry. "It's fine Mulciber, they will make you better again..., you will be able to walk without pain... we will..." My voice wants to crack extremely badly, but I just sigh to regain it, "We will get you back." The statement made the world turn silent, my voice disappears, and the angels cry blood.

Someone slowly starts to mutter, "You will get better, Mulch, when you do, all of us will come and get you." Igor tells him with compassion, with the words I couldn't get out anymore, breaking our silent moods.

This nickname shifts something in him, he remembers. While shaking, he lost the grip on me and after Augustus closes the remaining space between him and the patient, Mulciber springs from me into his arm instead, the vessels around his forehead and eyes look extremely purple by this point, but he trusts Augustus to let him guide the way towards resting his head on the pillow, I don't really want to leave him here.

His head looses control, slowly sliding forward, but Augustus reassures him and pushes it back with care, "You will get better, don't worry about the dizziness, it will stop after you lay down, come on." Their voices start thinning while I try to walk away, I can't stand being in this room any longer, this is the right decision, he needs to get his body fixed, I want to explode in anger, start punching everyone, reclaiming others peoples lives with my knife, but somehow something washes over me, a calming sensation, there's nothing more I can do.

I was going to surrender until a strong voice interrupts what I wanted to say, "This is where I leave all of you, there are patients who are waiting, a bit too long for my liking... You all need to go right now!" Hippocrates admits with frustration.

My face just stares at him in despair and nods, my friends all circle around me, scrutinizing me, their fallen leader.

"You are rad! Look at everything we have done motherfucker! We are surviving out of this one, we always do, Sev, we always do! Just let it all out and explode." Avery lifts me up in his own weird way.

"I'm glad we made it boys..." Barty whispers, still clinging to his safe blanket.

"Let's go, we haven't finished." I mutter to my group, I will sink with my ship, maybe I'll find Regulus body there, just maybe... Fine, the show must continue.

My gang is all frenzied, some of them broken beyond repair, their violence uncontrollable at this point, I remember Evan is waiting very close from here, expecting us in the middle of the way back to the cellar, we are almost there, this needs to continue.

I hope the dad is hurting and bleeding away, maybe Rabastan will help him, who knows where he is now and where his loyalty remains, I can't help but feel angry at yet another stab in the back.

This broken group starts the operation with brilliance by going to fetch the door, first we need to get out of Hypocrites ward and sneak our way into the ground floor again, to find the main exit, the one at the back of the hospital where they admit emergencies, it is now completely empty, since the Hospital is in lockdown, immediate care is canceled and nobody will be there.

That means we need to go through hell again, I'm ready for this, feelings are useless, what is this whole operation I am orchestrating if not a whole acting piece? Just pure ability.

"Bart, you can run? Stay close to me, Avery goes up front, Igor stays at the back, we can't let anyone grab him." I instruct every single one of them with confident instructions and after Barty nods at me, we accomplish our formation, then we run.

We fucking run and run until the muscles on our legs start to convulse, the annihilation is still on going around our frantic steps, all the people who didn't believe in us, the ones that are now looking back like zoo animals trying to escape, they mutter and whisper, they are unable to catch us now, we are invincible, no one dares to say a word to us, may greatness be by our side, we are crawling our way out of this massacre, the skies collapse upon us, destroying our bodies and crushing our bones, but we start to bite and destroy gulps of dead people in protest, we are making history happen, I'm repulsed and angered, this can't be enough suffering, I want more, I yearn for it.
I think about my stained hands, how did I let them die? I'm sorry little Severus since I've failed you, I can't hold you anymore, even if you cry, my arms are too far away to cradle you, please forgive me, grant me permission to be forgiven, please. 
Regulus this is what you would have wished for? Before your brother abandoned you... I know what you felt, and may this understanding be enough for you to at least be in peace for a single second, we are repellent, and it would have been so much better if you stayed away from us, but I know the mark is very tempting to cover your bruises and scars with, they still remain, even if you bite it off, you still needed to lick your wounds clean, like a dog, but you both are the same, I'm happy something died inside him when you did, that thing has a name, we found a great word for the burn Sirius carries, it's called retribution.

Eye for an eye, sitting on a table, a death body covered by the remains of a deskinned lion, the peels of matted fur incarnadine the scene, it eats the dogs eyes, he doesn't know who these eyes belonged to before being plucked out, but it continues, obligated to gulp them down his stomach, animals don't have feelings, only retaliation, wrath and hunger.

There's nothing that I like more than revenge. 

Running into a corner without immediate exit, all of us threaten to slip, the figure in front of me looses its balance but with surprising swiftness he catches his legs and continues the race, Barty slips besides me, he is too tired, but I grab him by the collar with the same impulsiveness, he clings to one of the arm slits of my vest, pulling me until it asphyxiates me, how many people my vest has come to someone's rescue today? They all cling to life with hunger, escaping yet again with tears of scarlet running down their faces.

All of us are feeling damn good, there's nothing stopping us, nothing matters anymore! Flashes of calamity start to appear circling us while we continue eating steps around the gigantic halls, people collapse around us, they beg for us to bring them along, but we deny the same mercy, the space is already occupied. 

The solitude of abandoned notes follow our steps as we crash our anger in a deadly ceremony, we are facing the end of the world. 

After a while, security is trying to catch us already, sweat beads swim across my face, my breathing feels extremely hot, and my lungs are hurting, like in the end of times, voices are shouting from the speakers that we need to be hunted, this is apocalypse.

Upon that announcement, we finally reach the small wooden door, the exit for unsuspecting staff, the souls who are now saving lives, like we are, but we are doing it our own fucking way. 

Igor flings himself at a desk that blocks his way, sliding without great effort under its arches, he is fucking mad, continuing all the way and reaching towards the portal, starting to destroy the door with his human force, breaking it down with powerful kicks, springing his leg like a beast. "Come on, we need to get the fuck out of here... Where's my weapon?" Igor starts to yowl, finally noticing that the crowbar he brought turned out to be useless, while continuing to tackle the door.

I hear an angry growl and Avery shouts "Ha! Fuck this door!" With fingers simulating a robotic enchantment, spiky brass knuckles wrap all around of his fingers, and he starts to stab forwards, with inhumane force he starts ripping the door apart, starting from the top of the already made dent in the middle all the way down, while Igor starts to pant besides him, looking deranged, his kicks start to decrease in speed.

"Hahaha, oh yes! This is easy as fuck!" Avery grins and takes control, he pulls apart big chunks of the solid wooden door, his face looks high, stabbing the door relentlessly, pulling all his strength outwards and behind his back, his elbow retrieving very far away from his body, and tilted slightly upwards, then letting the force spread all around the impact zone, pushing his whole weight forwards in the punch. "Get the fuck out of my way, assholes, I'm getting out of here FUCKERS!" He starts shouting and growling, splinters start to catch the skin of his face.

"Step aside, Avery stop!..." I urge him to calm down, he is getting out of control, he almost falls down as he stops briskly, the force of his arms lunges him forward. 

I'll try and kick it down myself, it's time for me to step up for them, I'm their leader... I'm the one saving us.

My mind calculates the damage rapidly, if we aren't thinking about this logically, we are getting nowhere, the boards are overlapping each other like cake slices, we already broke three of those, there's probably not many layers left, my knife won't slice wood, fuck.

"I have a screwdriver... A magician... a magician has always something under his sleeve!" Barty announces with fear and hesitation, he has been staring at us with curiosity, he is already desensitized to violence, but his hungry filled body isn't fit to raid the place. "The blood isn't mine." He announces with a little more confidence.

He unwraps his blanket away and with a terribly shaking hand gives me a dried up bloody screwdriver, it smells like animal blood, I wonder if it's dogs blood.

Thankfully is not his, "Bart, we are getting out, fucking now." I start with murderous movements, but aim ever so slightly more rapidly and targeting closer to the apex, the weakest point, my arm pulling behind my back and puncturing the structure in that exact place, it feels chilling, my force controls my movements by default.

Suddenly I remember who I stabbed today with a flinch, and see how my weapon finally pierces through enough of the material to spot that they are only two laminated wooden planks left, very thin and manageable.

I start kicking it with my legs after the couple of stabs, aiming close to that broken core, between the destroyed part that Igor and Avery made plus the slice I just managed to open with the screwdriver, now the center is weak.

One kick follows the other and the material gives in, shattering into a million pieces and the impulse of the strength of my body plunges me into the open space, my whole leg spreads onto the other side, pulling me apart painfully into the outside, I'll need to pull through, it will be easier than to bring my lost leg inwards again, I tried it, but ultimately continuing towards the exit, Avery claws with his fingers around the open wood trying to slither out besides my trapped leg, throwing his whole body into the space, crashing with me and scrapping the door with his fingers to get out, his arms open red, slicing his skin on the broken wood panels, not bothered at all by the pain, until well indeed the space starts to get a lot bigger, making me able to finally pass my whole body through and retrieve my lost leg, then the other body plunges down on the floor after me, shouting something about finally reaching the outside.

"Let's go, let's go, we are on the other side, pull through, quick! You made it, you are all out!" My last words filled with rush, worry, excitement, exhaustion... may our lives be taken compassion off, let them live, take me instead.

The sky opens up, engulfing us with its bite, all of us continue, now free, lifting pieces of dirt with every leap of our boots, while we escape all together, my eyes manage to catch a glimpse of hair tangled like a big bear, curly like a constellation, Sirius Black is looking for us, running not to far behind.

"Give him back! I know you did it Barty! You deserve to endure your sentence, don't try and deny it any longer." A voice shouts from the shadows.

"Run! We are finally let loose!" We ignore the accusation with bliss, fuck everyone, fuck the world, every single one of us complete the race, sprinting with our last breath towards the forest, we reach a nearby garden, even if we have people on our tails, we just collapse on the grass, breathing out internal steam, laying down on the moss like starfish on the sea.

My feathers are broken, and they bleed, my hands tainted with sacrifice, trying to fight for the ones who have their mouths sewn together. 

I look at the firmament with admiration, the night is witness to terrible things, the only one who comforts the sentenced souls, the sad ones, the weeping pain of us, it cries tears of stars, shinning in a pitiful attempt to make my group smile, trying their best to comfort us, victims... I cry with the night, finally feeling just a little glimpse of peace, a single perfect moment, this will never happen again, and the despair enfolds me, an ephemeral escape, this scrap of time is sweeter and more beautiful because I know it will disappear quickly after. All of us share a brief moment before being captured by infection again, our friend group as same as ever, but with the heavy weight of our marked sentences and a price for our handout, the only night that saw us here so vulnerable, swinging our bodies into a sleepy embrace, all together once more, connections bound by pain, still no one has mercy on us, even in this tragedy, just the night, the last night we mutually share together.

Every last one of us here, fallen angels on the floor, wings sliced off from the root, oozing slaughter, our wrath is not exculpated, we are left here seeping in our last moments before condemnation, the last time alive.